Online Degree

Online MBA Facts and Fictions

2010-06-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

The real scoop on earning your MBA online.

If you're weighing the pros and cons of earning your master's in business administration (MBA) online, you're not alone. After all, with more choices come more questions.

Aspen University Online offered the very first accredited, online MBA degree in 1987. More than 20 years later, there is a much longer list of schools offering MBAs online.

Let's play true-false to examine some differences between online and offline MBA programs.

TRUE OR FALSE: An online business education can't compare to face-to-face learning.

FALSE - In fact, a 93-page Department of Education report outlined in The New York Times found that online students outperformed classroom-based students in a modest but statistically meaningful way using comparative research gathered from 1996 to 2008.

"The study's major significance lies in demonstrating that online learning today is not just better than nothing - it actually tends to be better than conventional instruction," said Barbara Means, the study's lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International.

Add in the fact that many online learning tools - like streaming video, email, instant messaging, and teleconferencing - develop key communication skills that every modern business executive needs, and it becomes apparent that online programs can offer some competitive advantages that a typical classroom-based education can't.

TRUE OR FALSE: MBA degrees earned online are a scam perpetuated by unaccredited diploma mills.

FALSE - Thereare literally hundreds of accredited schools and universities offering online MBA degree programs. Take, for example, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a highly-regarded accrediting agency which has given its stamp of approval to many online MBA programs.

Yet AACSB accreditation is not the lone indicator of quality when considering an online MBA program. "If it's not accredited by the AACSB," writes Jeffrey Gangemi in Business Week, "then you should look for regional accreditation. This means that the organization examining the program is approved by the U.S. government."

TRUE OR FALSE: There are benefits to a campus-based MBA program that can't be matched online.

TRUE - No matter its advantages, online learning simply cannot replicate face-to-face interaction with your instructor or in-person networking in a classroom with your peers.

Yet career networking does exist in online MBA programs, albeit with a different format.

"There's a really strong, off-the-radar network building up on its own," says Michael Goess, chairman of the Division of Business for Graduate Programs at Regis University, which offers one of the largest online MBA programs in the country.

Additionally, online MBA programs offer career counseling services to their students, not to mention a much more affordable price and the flexibility to keep your day job while earning your MBA, no matter your zip code.
TRUE OR FALSE: Online MBA degrees are a fad that will go the way of the pet rock.

FALSE - Ever since Aspen University Online offered that first accredited, online MBA degree in 1987, online programs have become commonplace and changed the concept of business school forever.

Businesses have changed too, now viewing online MBAs as acceptable credentials, both during the interview process and when considering employees for promotion.

In other words, potential employers are asking the exact same kinds of questions that you're asking. Is the online MBA program properly accredited? And how reputable is the institution?

The fact is, while earning a degree online may feel like a brand-new phenomenon, it's not. Although it may surprise some, the concept of distance learning actually pre-dates most brick-and-mortar educational institutions.

Indeed, the University of London was the first to offer distance learning degrees as early as 1858. Capitalizing on 19th-century postal innovations, the university began awarding degrees via mail correspondence to deserving students, regardless of location, race, religion, and gender.

Online MBA programs are a natural extension of that forward-thinking philosophy. It goes to show that, regardless of the year, decade or even century, new technology means new possibilities.

Take a look at these online business school programs and see if there is an ideal match for you.

Employer Perceptions of Online Degrees: A Literature Review

2010-05-01T10:03:00.002-07:00

Abstract
This literature review explores research regarding the perception of potential employers or “gatekeepers” about online degrees in comparison with those earned in a traditional format. This review contributes to the field of knowledge because higher education can benefit from understanding how these perceptions affect students’ employment opportunities and, in turn, affect the institutions granting the online degree. In addition, research in this area potentially contributes to the field of knowledge by helping prospective students, as consumers of higher education, make informed choices about their degree attainment paths.

Introduction
With fluctuations in the economy, increased technological competence, fast-paced lifestyles, geographic dispersion, and the need for workers to possess new skill sets and credentialing, the demand for online degrees has grown over the past decade (Conceição, 2007). Institutions offering online degrees have proliferated in the adult and higher education landscape to meet these needs. According to eLearners.com, there are currently over 170 accredited U.S. online colleges and universities that offer online Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in numerous fields (elearners.com, 2007). Adams and DeFleur (2005) state, “although there are some 678 non-resident degree programs available online, only a handful of these are fully accredited or taught from recognized institutions” (p. 72).

Furthermore, individual students invest thousands of dollars each year obtaining higher education. Increasingly, they select online degrees to reach that goal with the expectation of a sound return on investment. Adult students primarily choose online degrees to obtain credentialing for promotions and employment, as well as to cultivate lifelong learning while overcoming such potential barriers as full-time work responsibilities and remote geographic location. Nance (2007) suggests that minority students may also select online learning after experiencing racially discriminatory treatment in the traditional classroom. Despite the increasing interest in pursuing an online degree toward obtaining additional credentials, the economic climate causes students to place a high premium on whether online degrees translate into jobs or careers. This translation is dependent on the current hiring practices that are influenced by the organization’s hiring “gatekeeper’s” view.

Methodology
This section will present information concerning the selection of literature. In addition, it discusses the characteristics of distance learning degrees and the definition of hiring gatekeepers.

Literature Selection
This literature review explores the research about the perception of potential employers or “gatekeepers” about online degrees in comparison with those earned in a traditional format. The guiding questions for each study and article were: What does the current literature say about hiring gatekeepers’ perceptions of online degrees? How do these perceptions influence their assessment of the candidate’s employment qualifications?

To answer the research questions, literature was reviewed within four databases: Academic Source Complete, Education Source Complete, Business Source Complete, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Abstracts. The keywords used were “online degrees,” “higher education,” “virtual college,” “hiring,” “perceptions,” and “academic degree programs.” The search resulted in 11 academic journal articles, 18 dissertations, two unpublished manuscripts, three books, and two online articles. The literature selected for this review was then evaluated and chosen based on pertinence to the topic of employer views toward online degrees in North America.

Characteristics of Distance Learning Degrees
Today’s post-secondary degrees offer students the options to engage in various delivery modes. According to the 2005 Sloan Consortium report, Allen and Seaman (2005) describe the following standard academic degree program configurations as:

Traditional or Minor Web-Facilitated: No online technology used or 1 to 29 percent of course content is online through a course management system, such as Blackboard or WebCT, to support the primary use of the face-to-face format.
Hybrid: 30 to 79 percent content covered online such as online discussions and readings; supplemented by occasional face-to-face classroom experience.
Online: 80 percent plus of course content and interactions occur online (p. 4).
Many online institutions espouse the comparable quality of their degrees to traditional institutions. In response, many traditional institutions have also adopted online degree programs as part of their strategic direction. According to Allen and Seaman (2005), “Forty-four percent of all schools offering face-to-face Master’s degree programs also offer them online.” (p. 1). The National Center for Education Statistics (2003) states that 90 percent of public four-year institutions provide online bachelor degrees (as cited in Adams & Eveland, 2007).

Hiring Gatekeepers
Hiring “gatekeepers” are defined as, “…anyone who stands between you and the person who might want to hire you. Gatekeepers come in many forms, including receptionists, HR recruiters, and resume screeners” (Mitchell, 2003, ¶1). Throughout the literature reviewed here, a variety of “gatekeepers” served as participants. For example, in some studies, the “gatekeeper” participants were HR managers and recruiters; others were actual managers for the position in which a candidate would be hired.

As cited in Peat and Helland (2004), “…individuals who perceive distance learning as ineffective may attend only to information that supports their beliefs and a negative perception toward a phenomenon such as distance education may predispose a person to act negatively toward that phenomenon (Pinder, 1998)” (p. 939).

Findings
Within this literature search, there were five published and two unpublished complete empirical research studies regarding prospective employer’s perceptions of a job candidate’s online degree achievements. Studies conducted by Eduventures and Vault.com were not used. While highly relevant to this topic, they are private research firms and specific organizations and institutions commission their projects. Eduventures and Vault.com do not provide particulars about their methodology, samples, and results. Therefore, it was difficult to decipher aspects of their results to form a quality comparison.

The majority of the literature available was found in “popular” media (newspaper and trade magazines), web pages, and blogs. The purpose of many of these communications centered around advising the public about whether or not to select the online option when one pursues a degree, as well as what to do and what to avoid when employers inquire about the nature of one’s degree. The findings will discuss the results from empirical studies, popular media and communications literature, and summarize typical employer concerns and commendations regarding online degrees, as supported by the literature.

Empirical Studies
The section will provide a comparison across empirical studies. We categorized these studies according to the industries that formed the basis for the study. The three industries are higher education, healthcare, and general industry. This is important because different industries may have different views about the credibility of online degrees.

Higher Education. Yickes, Patrick and Costin (2005), citing Giannoni, and Teone (2003), note “There is a perceptual disparity in academia that distance education is second best” (p. 3). This perception appears to carry over in higher education hiring practices. Research conducted by Adams and DeFleur (2005) regarding doctorates indicate that, given the choice of selecting “hypothetical” candidates who possessed online or traditional doctoral degree credentialing, as many as 98 percent of 109 employers surveyed would prefer to hire the candidate with the traditional degree. A later study by Flowers and Baltzer (2006) also looked at academic hiring processes and largely confirmed the above results. However, this survey-based study only focused on perceptions of the hiring gatekeepers. Respondents ranked answers based on a Likert Scale and the findings revealed that participants in the sample were significantly less likely to hire a candidate with an online doctoral degree for a full time, tenure-track faculty position. Their findings were similar to Adams and DeFleur’s (2006) study regarding the perceptions of academia about the perceived validity of online doctoral degrees.

Finally, the latest study by Guendoo (2007, 2008) found that community colleges were more receptive to online doctoral degree recipients than traditional, four-year degree universities. Employing the Delphi method, Guendoo (2008) involved 52 administrators of the largest 145 community colleges in the United States and found that they did not view the online degree as a hindrance to a recipient’s chances for employment. It is important to note that almost all the respondents had experience with taking and/or teaching online courses. Further, Guendoo (2008) hypothesized that any negative perceptions traditional universities currently have about online doctoral degree graduates applying for faculty positions may change. “One can predict that the gap in perception between the subjects of this study (community college leaders) and those of the Adams and DeFleur study [traditional four-year colleges] will continue to close over time” (Guendoo, 2008, p. 4).

Healthcare. The earliest qualitative study used a grounded theory approach. Chaney (2002) researched eight Midwest pharmaceutical companies and focused on the perception about online degrees for those being hired in various positions that mostly require scientific backgrounds. The findings indicated that, although all the participants questioned whether scientific content and labs could be taught online, most of the respondents made no distinction between an online degree and a traditional degree when considering applicants in the hiring process. “Except for one [out of 8], all the representatives said that they when they would review the resume, they would consider the e-degree and traditional degree equally” (Chaney, 2002, p. 64). However, she did not determine whether these participants would actually hire the candidate with the online degree.

Applying a similar comparative approach as they did while researching doctoral and bachelor degrees in various fields, Adams, DeFleur, and Heald (2007) looked at the acceptability of credentials earned either online or partially online for obtaining employment in the healthcare professions. They did not distinguish between what type of degree (bachelors, master, doctorate) and what specific field (nurses, pharmacists, radiologists, etc.) served as the target for their study. However, they found that given the hiring decision for a healthcare position, most gatekeepers (95 percent) would prefer the applicant with a traditional degree to one who completed an online degree. In addition, the researchers found that 29 percent would select a candidate with a hybrid degree where half of the courses were taken online (Adams et al., 2007).

Online degrees across industries. Adams and DeFleur (2006) studied the perceptions about online bachelor’s degrees in the entry-level position hiring process. Study participants were hiring executives in the United States. The methodology included searching “want ads” in newspapers for open positions. Surveys were sent that required the hiring executive to “force choose” between three hypothetical candidates with similar experience but with differing types of bachelor degrees. One “mock” candidate had a traditional bachelor’s degree; one with a bachelor achieved through a mix of delivery methods (hybrid); and one who received a bachelor’s from a virtual university. The completed 269 surveys were then analyzed. Findings suggest that when companies attempted to fill management or entry-level positions in accounting, business, engineering, and information technology, 96 percent indicated that they would choose the candidate with a traditional degree. When comparing traditional degree to hybrid delivery, 75 percent would still prefer traditional over the hybrid. In addition, 72 percent answered “yes” to the question of whether the type of degree makes a difference in the decision to select a candidate. The quantitative findings further suggested that concerns such as accreditation, perceived interaction among peers and professor, quality (rigor), skills, and work experience were the most predominant reasons not to hire an online candidate. One limitation of the study was the lack of clarity around whether this was the best selection of participants for the study. Because HR professionals and external consultants are often the first-line hiring “gatekeepers” at this level and make the initial decisions about which resumes advance to the hiring executive and which are discarded, this study may have benefited from targeting the first line gatekeepers.

Finally, Seibold’s (2007) qualitative study included gatekeepers from five different industries: “telecommunications, data systems, insurance, finance and rental businesses” (p. 32). She suggests that, even with the increase of online degrees and students and nearly a decade of research, perceptions still exist in the hiring process that traditional degrees are superior to online degrees, although hybrids are gaining acceptability. However, she maintains, “…whatever the state of opinion held today, it is clear that personal experience with online education [on the part of the gatekeeper] had positively influenced the perceptions of those involved in this study” (Seibold, 2007, p. 54).

Limitations of empirical studies. While other studies employed interviewing and surveys to assess perceptions, the Adams and DeFleur (2005, 2006) studies were the only ones in which participants actually looked at resumes for three hypothetical candidates with comparable experience but different degrees (online, hybrid, and traditional) and decided which they would hire for a specific job. In addition, Chaney (2002), Seibold (2007), and Adams, DeFleur, & Heald (2007) studies did not distinguish perceptions between type of degree (Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate) and specific domain. Therefore, additional studies to determine whether hiring an online degree recipient actually takes place and specifically in what industry and the level of degree attainment would add to the knowledge base.

Newspaper, Trade Magazines, Online Journals, Websites, and Blogs
Largely countering some of these empirical studies are the vast quantity of popular media and articles supporting online degrees as viable options, but also informing potential consumers of the risks associated with these educational options. Two articles, Caudron (2001) and Dolezalek (2003) provide information for employers. Both discuss reactions to online degrees and what to evaluate in online degrees. Caudron’s article offers recruiters seven questions to ask when evaluating online degrees. However, an interviewee in the Dolezalek (2003) article maintained that many recruiters are not specifically trained to “look out for” online degrees versus traditional degrees and that, rather, they are instructed merely to check to see if the candidate’s school is accredited.

Articles directed primarily toward the public and online degree consumers appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Chronicle of Higher Education and provided discussions of the pros and cons of online degrees and how they were perceived during the hiring process. For example, while Carnevale (2005) cites Adams and DeFleur’s (2005) study that reflects a negative perception of online degrees in the hiring process, he provides anecdotal information regarding views of graduates and employers who have had positive experiences with online degree hires.

Websites, such as collegeinpjs.com and eLearners.com provide positive reports of the prospects of online degrees. Mulrean’s (2004) optimistic article, found through collegeinpjs.com, maintains that attitudes are changing and that the more employers are exposed to online degrees, the more accepting they will be. However, other sites and articles at least recognize these biases in the hiring process. According to Montell (2003), candidates with online educational backgrounds were advised not to use the words “online” to describe their educational backgrounds and that they would need to defend the value of their degree. Mulrean (2004) also points out that if you attend a class at Columbia University, “There’s no need to distinguish the degrees as having been earned online because they’re identical to the courses delivered at the physical campus” (¶7). Further, some college sites, such as Oregon State University website state, “Our accredited online degrees and programs appear the same on your OSU transcript as do on-campus degrees and programs at Oregon State University” (Retrieved on December 3, 2007 campus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees). However, Glover (2005) in her article, urges other online degree graduates,

If questions about your online degree come up in an interview, be honest and state all of the reasons why your online degree is more valuable than a traditional one. Not only will this improve your immediate chances for getting the job, it is the only way we can change employers' lingering misperceptions of online education (p. 39).

Carnevale (2007) cites Vault.com’s study that indicated that only 55 percent of the 107 employers surveyed would select a candidate with a traditional degree over one who earned the degree online, and 41 percent would view both degrees equally. According to Nance (2007), Eduventures 2005 Continuing and Professional Education report indicates that of 505 employers surveyed, 62 percent of employers feel that online instruction is the same or better than classroom learning. Wellen (2006) provides additional details about this study, “Of the 500 or so participants, including Bank of America, DaimlerChrysler and the United States Air Force, half regarded online and face-to-face instruction as ‘equally valuable,’ 10 percent regarded online education as ‘more valuable’ and 38 percent as ‘less valuable’” (p. 2). Eduventure’s 62 percent acceptance claim, however, seems to apply to situations in which the employee was already working for the organization and completing the online degree to gain internal advancement rather than being hired from the outside (Hartman, 2007; Nance, 2007; Wellen, 2006).

There are several limitations with the research done by Eduventure and Vault.com. While they provide more encouraging results, because their clients have exclusive rights to the results and reporting, it was not possible to determine the specifics of the data gathering and analysis. As stated above the nature of these studies conducted by private research firms based on commissions from specific organizations lends itself to possible biases that could impinge on the reliability of the findings.

Common Concerns and Commendations for Online Degrees
Throughout the empirical studies, as well as Carnevale’s (2005, 2007) popular media articles that cite empirical studies, potential employers gave the following reasons for their reticence in accepting online degree credentials:

lack of rigor,
lack of face-to-face interactions,
increased potential for academic dishonesty,
association with diploma mills,
concerns about online students’ true commitment evident from regularly venturing to a college or university physical location, considered by some to be an important part of the educational experience.
On the other hand, some themes emerged from the empirical study literature and popular media supporting employer acceptance of online degree credentialing. Conditions that could influence online degree acceptance in the hiring process were:

name recognition/reputation of the degree-granting institution,
appropriate level and type of accreditation,
perception that online graduates were required to be more self-directed and disciplined,
candidates’ relevant work experiences,
and whether the online graduates were being considered for promotion within an organization or if they were vying for new positions elsewhere or in a new field.
Additional research is needed, however, to solidify these claims, as well as to investigate further hiring gatekeepers’ acceptance rates concerning degrees that employ a mix of online and in-classroom delivery elements (hybrid).

Discussion and Implications for Further Research
This literature review spanning nearly seven years largely suggests that there still may be a marked stigma attached to online degrees throughout the hiring process within those industries studied. In summary, all scholarly research to date has concluded that the “gatekeepers” have an overall negative perception about online degrees. This was particularly evident at the level of a bachelor’s degree for those seeking an entry-level position (Adams & DeFleur, 2006). In the healthcare arena, the results were mixed. Chaney (2002) found that the perception, if not the hiring behavior, gave equal weight to online versus traditional degrees. Adams et al (2007) found a clear bias toward traditional degrees. When examining the hiring in academia for tenured faculty positions, the studies found that traditional degrees were viewed more favorably then online degrees (Adams & DeFleur, 2006; Flowers & Baltzer, 2006). The exception in higher education appears in the hiring practices in community colleges, which displayed openness to online degrees of potential candidates and hires (Guendoo, 2007, 2008).

On the other hand, Russell’s (2001) annotated bibliography consisting of 355 research reports, summaries and papers regarding quality of distance learning tout the comparability and, occasionally, superiority of online education. Perhaps as more potential employees attain their degrees online, acceptance will increase. However, if potential employers continue to harbor negative perceptions about candidate’s online degree credentials, quality of the actual learning and work experiences may take a back seat to these preconceptions throughout the hiring process.

Continued research in this area will provide insight for expanding student accessibility to quality online higher education, provide information to develop employer/recruiter education workshops (what to look for, how to break down any unfounded biases), continuing program improvement, and executing effective and ethical marketing practices (Adams, 2008). Further, results from continued scholarly work could help illuminate and mobilize higher education leadership and administration to make better-informed decisions regarding funding, managing, and evaluating the effectiveness and public perceptions of online degrees.

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References
Adams, J. (2008). Understanding the factors limiting the acceptability of online courses and degrees. Unpublished manuscript. Florida State University.

Adams, J., & DeFleur, M. (2005). The acceptability of a doctoral degree earned online as a credential for obtaining a faculty position. The American Journal of Distance Education, 19(2), 71-85.

Adams, J., & DeFleur, M. (2006). The acceptability of online degrees earned as a credential for obtaining employment. Communication Education, 55(1), 32-45.

Adams, J., DeFleur, M., & Heald, G. (2007). The acceptability of a doctoral degree earned online as a credential for health professionals. Communication Education, 56(3), 292-307.

Adams, J., & Eveland, V. (2007). Marketing online degree programs: How do traditional-residential programs compete? Unpublished manuscript. Florida State University, 1-29.

Allen, I., & Seaman, J. (2005, November). Growing by degrees: Online education in the United States, 2005. Sloan Consortium, 1-24.

Carnevale, D. (2005, September 23). Employers still prefer traditional degrees over online learning, study finds. The Chronicle of Higher Education: Information Technology, 52(5), A43.

Carnevale, D. (2007). Employers often distrust online degrees: Some say they prefer job applicants who earned diplomas the old-fashioned way. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(18), A28.

Caudron, S. (2001). Evaluating E-Degrees. Workforce, 80(2), 44.

Chaney, E. G. (2002). Pharmaceutical employers' perceptions of employees or applicants with e-degrees or online coursework. (Doctoral dissertation, Indiana State University, Indiana, USA). Retrieved January 9, 2008, from ProQuest Digital Dissertations database. (Publication No. AAT 3061561).

Conceição, S. C. O. (2007). Setting directions for the future of online and adult education. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education (113), 87-91.

Dolezalek, H. (2003). Online degrees. Training, 40(5), 26.

elearners.com (2007). Online colleges, universities and schools. Retrieved March 8, 2008, from http://www.elearners.com/colleges/index.asp

Flowers, J. C. & Baltzer, H. (2006). Hiring Technical Education faculty: Vacancies, criteria, and attitudes toward online doctoral degrees. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education 43(3).

Glover, K. (2005, October 15). Don't Discredit My Online Degree. Library Journal, 39.

Guendoo, L. (2007). Credibility challenges to online doctoral graduates seeking faculty positions: A community college perspective. Doctoral dissertation, Capella University, Minnesota, USA. Retrieved June 20, 2008, from Dissertations & Theses: A&I database. (Publication No. AAT 3284074).

Guendoo, L. (2008). Community colleges friendlier to online PhDs. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. 11 (3). Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall113/guendoo113.html

Hartman, K. (2007). Major employers embrace online degrees. Distance Learning Today. 1(2), 12-13.

Mitchell, W. (2003). Bypass the gatekeeper to land an interview with the decision maker. Tech Republic. Retrieved January 4, 2008, from http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-22-5034822.html

Montell, G. (2003). Battling the stigma of nontraditional credentials. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved May 23, 2007, from http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/08/2003080601c.htm

Mulrean, J. (2004). Who would hire an online grad? Collegeinpjs.com. Retrieved February 2, 2008 from http://www.educationconnection.com/downloads/hire_online_grad.pdf

Nance, M. (2007, April). Online degrees increasingly gaining acceptance among employers. Retrieved October 3, 2007, from http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_7181.shtml 24(4), 50.

Peat, J., & Helland, K. (2004). The competitive advantage of online versus traditional education. Unpublished manuscript. University of Tennessee. 938-945.

Russell, T. L. (2001). The no significant difference phenomenon: A comparative research annotated bibliography on technology for distance education. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University.

Seibold, K. N. (2007). Employers' perceptions of online education. (Doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma, USA). Retrieved January 9, 2008, from ProQuest Digital Dissertations database. (Publication No. AAT 3274545).

Whellen, A. (2006, July 30). Degrees of acceptance. The New York Times, Retrieved May 24, 2007 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/education/edlife/conted.html

Yick, A. G., Patrick, P., & Costin, A. (2005). Navigating distance and traditional higher education: Online faculty experiences. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 6(2). Retrieved January 12, 2009, from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/235/853

NextGen: Don't Discredit My Online Degree

2010-05-01T10:03:00.001-07:00

When I graduated with an MLIS from an online program, it never occurred to me that I would have a hard time finding a job. Unfortunately, I am finding that many employers view my online degree as worth less than a traditional degree.

According to a survey conducted by Vault.com, out of 239 human resource professionals, "37 percent of those surveyed believe that an online graduate school degree is as credible as a traditional degree, while 54 percent said that it was not as credible but acceptable. But these are the interesting numbers: roughly 40 percent of employers said they believed my degree is credible. That means 60 percent of employers view my degree as second class, which makes finding a job that much harder for me than someone with a traditional degree.

Some common misconceptions
This bias is quite perplexing. I was under the impression that employers wanted mature self-starters with independence and motivation—the very skills needed to be successful in an online program. So why is there a bias against the validity of online programs? Vault.com also asked employers to describe what they see as the drawbacks of online programs. The top three reasons: "students don't socially interact with peers," "too new to gauge effectiveness," and "loss of real-time pedagogical exchange."

These are common misconceptions. As far as social interaction goes, I found my online program to be better than my traditional undergraduate program. In fact, many professors in online programs require participation and foster group projects. Because of the virtual nature of the program, my classmates and I were able to contact each other at all hours of the day and night, not bound by location. We communicated via chat, discussion boards, and email. Often, our communication was even graded—and even if it wasn't graded, it was still necessary for our success. OK, so we didn't go to the movies together. We did, however, often speak socially, beyond the assignment, offering encouragement and constructive criticism.

Too new?
If the idea of online degrees is too new to "gauge effectiveness," then why are so many traditional institutions increasingly offering online classes both to traditional students as well as distance students? Apparently, online courses are valuable to the traditional student, yet the traditional student avoids the stigma of the online degree even though students in the online program take the same exact courses.

As for the pedagogical exchange from my online program, it was just as effective and real as any exchange in a traditional classroom. In fact, there were added benefits to online exchanges. Not only could we contact our instructor any time, the chat program we used logged all of our discussions. That gave us the benefit of being able to miss a discussion and still read later what was discussed. What traditional student is able to go back and find out exactly what an instructor said, word for word? We also participated in discussion boards that facilitated instructor feedback and questions in a one-on-one manner, and these discussion boards were usually mandatory. How many traditional instructors demand that you come to their office once a week and ask a question or propose an idea?

More value
Those of us who choose to take online courses, or earn an online degree, do so because we often have jobs, families, and lives that cannot just stop for school. We may be nontraditional, but that does not make us less valuable. In fact, it may even make us more valuable. We multitask and organize. Our time management skills are impressive, and our commitment to our education is unmatched. Until employers know more about what it takes to succeed in an online program, however, the stigma will remain.

At one point, I was instructed just not to mention that my degree was an online degree. That's a terrible idea. Potential employers would realize my degree was earned online as soon as they read my résumé. After all, I maintained full-time employment in a different state while receiving my degree. Employers tend to notice that type of discrepancy, and many might think I was being deceitful by not explicitly stating mine is an online credential.

Here's a better idea. If questions about your online degree come up in an interview, be honest and state all of the reasons why your online degree is more valuable than a traditional one. Not only will this improve your immediate chances for getting the job, it is the only way we can change employers' lingering misperceptions of online education.

Online Degree

2010-05-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Internet evolution has drastically changed the education landscape. What was once considered “Distance Education” is now deemed “Online Education” where the method of teaching and learning has become virtual for students across the world.

Online Degrees are available from a wide variety of internet sources to include accredited Universities to fake Diploma Mills that churn out diplomas without any requirements other than payment.

Receiving an Online Degree provides numerous advantages to education seekers who are restricted by time, resources or transportation but can still advance their career through education.

Advancing Your Career Through Online EducationOnline universities and colleges and campus Universities have begun to aggressively pursue students pursuing an education. It is important to take the time to identify which of these institutions are a good fit for you.

Some factors to consider include cost, degrees provided, pass/fail requirements (ie, number of exams, theses required to get your degree), attendance, book purchases, and personal attention you may need in order to maximize your education experience.

If you are simply “degree shopping” for the quickest and easiest way to get an online degree to put on your resume’, you will probably look for a school that has minimal attendance requirements and is cost effective. However, if learning a skill or trait is critical, then it’s important to look deeper in to the professors, books, itinerary and other online resources that will be available so that you can effectively advance your career after you receive your online diplomas.

Regardless of which school you choose, be sure to select an online college that is accredited such as University of Phoenix or Capella University, as any qualified employer will do research on your internet degree to determine if it’s worth the paper it’s written on.

After you conduct your research on the various online degree colleges and universities, and choose the website that is the best fit for you, prepare yourself to buckle down, read, study and write just as you would for any school. The qualifications to be accepted are generally not as stringent as a campus college such as Penn State University, or University of Florida, but the education is certainly valuable.

There is some debate, however, about how these degrees are viewed by employers. Certainly, having internet or online degrees is better than having no degree at all, but some employers may look down upon them or confuse them with the fake diploma mills that currently exist on the internet.

Be prepared in an interview to discuss what you learned in your online education, the challenges you faced and the online coursework you completed that will make you more qualified for your new career.

Vault.com, a career information website, reports that “77 percent of hiring managers say that an online degree received through an established university such as Duke or Stanford is more acceptable than a degree earned through an Internet only university like Capella or Jones International." This is a reality in the online degree landscape, but with aggressive pursuit of the fake diploma industry, online educations will soon become widely accepted and seen as a great way to move you career forward.

How to identify legitimate Internet Degree Colleges and Universities?Check accreditation of the online degree at US Department of Education
Check legitimacy of the Internet University at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Write to the Diploma Mill Police that authenticates Internet Institutes of Education

Online Degree Programs Take Off

2010-05-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Online Degree Programs Take Off
As More Schools Embrace Web-Based Courses, More Students Log On to Expand Their Education While They Work

Angela Bostic will get her MBA in August from the University of Maryland University College, part of a dual master's degree she is pursuing. She has never met a professor, has never sat in a classroom and has checked out the Adelphi campus only once, long after she had enrolled. In fact, until recently, the 28-year-old graduate student had been studying from Brussels.

Bostic is among an extraordinarily fast-growing number of students nationwide and worldwide who are turning to online degree programs to complete or advance their educations while they work, decisions that are driven by economics as well as by a society that is increasingly mobile.

Congress passed a law in March that drops the requirement that colleges offer at least half their courses face to face to receive federal student aid. The new law will undoubtedly attract more students and schools into the fledgling online industry.

Online enrollment, including multiple courses taken by a single student, jumped from 1.98 million in 2003 to 2.35 million the following year, accounting for 7 percent of postsecondary education, according to Eduventures, a Boston firm that studies trends in education. Another study, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, reports that 65 percent of universities offering face-to-face graduate courses also offer graduate courses online. By early 2008, Eduventures predicts, about one in 10 college students will be enrolled in an online degree program.

"It's only going to grow," said Richard Garrett, an analyst with Eduventures. "The largest high school graduating class in U.S. history is expected to be 2009. There is going to be a lot of pressure on these students to get education in a competitive market."

Critics of e-learning have long said that learning alone through a computer does not provide the enriching intellectual exchange that in-person classes offer. In addition, they say that because the industry is so new, naive consumers may not know the difference between accredited institutions and fly-by-night operations that imply accreditation and charge steep prices. Most educators and industry executives acknowledge that e-learning may not be right for young learners who have not developed the discipline needed to work independently.

Some college administrators predicted that the online learning trend would explode a decade ago as the Internet became more popular, but some traditional schools over-committed before they understood the market. With much fanfare, Columbia University and New York University both launched online learning programs between 1998 and 2000, but they did not offer what some students wanted: a degree. Both programs closed.

Stanford University today offers online master's degrees in certain sciences, but most elite schools have looked down their noses at online degrees.

The University of Phoenix, the nation's largest for-profit online school, initially catered just to distance learning, and it is one of the few that has grown dramatically, by advertising heavily and targeting adult students. But it does not offer what some consumers want: a degree from a traditional brick-and-mortar institution.

At the University of Massachusetts, administrators knew from the beginning that there was an adult market that wanted and would pay for a brand name. "We really understand our audience," said Jack M. Wilson, the president of the university, who started the online venture in 1999. "Students are very different when they are older."

Wilson said his average online student is between 24 and 50, and working. The key for the school, he said, was to create an Internet entity that would blend seamlessly into the university -- admission standards are the same, degree requirements are the same, and the regular faculty is used and paid extra to teach online courses.

Massachusetts's online program offers 61 degree programs, having added 21 this year, and it has quadrupled its enrollment since 2002. In fiscal 2006, revenues for the online school grew 28 percent, and enrollment jumped 20 percent.

Schools that have taken on e-learning in a serious way say producing good, organized courses is labor intensive and expensive. For example, Massachusetts and Maryland's University College provide 24-hour library and technical support to students.

In 1999, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities launched JesuitNet, a collaborative effort in distance learning that allows 28 Jesuit schools to consolidate expenses and share coursework. They started with half a dozen degree offerings and now offer 45 degrees and 380 courses. One of the schools, Fairfield University, found that by offering summer classes online, it was able to keep revenues that students would otherwise have spent elsewhere. Within three years, the school went from 20 online summer courses to 40 -- all fully subscribed.

"We took a much more conservative approach initially, and it has just grown," said the Rev. Charles L. Currie, president of the association.

University of Maryland University College, which has also seen significant growth, is part of the Maryland state university system, although it operates as a separate entity. In 2005, the school had 51,405 online students, up from 9,696 in 1998. UMUC has a leg up on its competitors because it started out 60 years ago as a distance-learning facility serving troops worldwide. With the Internet the school was poised to capture the market.

"There will always be a need and a demand for face-to-face learning," said UMUC's president, Susan C. Aldridge. "But people need more opportunities and avenues to continue their educations."

While traditional schools have for the most part used their staff professors to teach online, UMUC contracts with a wide array of people to teach their expertise. Paul J. Fekete, an international economic consultant, for example, has taught for 11 years. He said he finds the caliber of student quite good. "They have motivation because they are forced to put their views in writing, which can be much more difficult than just a quick answer in class," he said. "They might have to work with someone across the globe" on collaborative projects.

And Fekete, 48, finds the class as convenient for him as for his students. He notes that he has been able to continue teaching while traveling in places such as Laos and Afghanistan.

"I actually feel like I am learning more," said Angela Bostic, the student. "The dynamic is such that you have to learn how to effectively communicate in the written form. That is actually more of a task than speaking in class."

Bostic lives in North Carolina now, but her education remains constant. After she receives her MBA, she will be able to finish her course work for a master's in international management -- from wherever she ends up.

In some cases, however, the opportunity has moved faster than the acceptance. In 1998, Kaplan Inc. (which is owned by The Washington Post Co.) started Concord Law School, the first JD program that is completely online, with 33 students. So far, it has awarded degrees to 229 students in 38 states, and 1,800 students are currently enrolled. But the American Bar Association does not recognize the degree, effectively prohibiting students from taking the bar exam in most states.

Barry A. Currier, the dean, said the school is undeterred. "I think things will change. We just have to take baby steps," he said. "We don't want to bully or scream our way into legitimacy, but once people see what we do over time, the degrees will be accepted."