Are Online College Degrees Just as Good as Regular Degrees?

The best answer to whether or not an online degree is as good as a degree that you get by actually attending a college is that it depends. One of the issues that you are going to find when you start researching schools that offer online degrees is that there is a huge variation in terms of the quality of them. In general if you pick a good school that has a decent reputation in the distance learning world you should get a degree that is as good as any other, the problems start to occur with some of the online only schools.
The most important thing that you have to make sure of when you are choosing an online degree is that it is regionally accredited. This is supposed to be an assurance of quality and in theory and online school that is regionally accredited meets the same standards as a regular college that is regionally accredited. In reality however the standards that are required for accreditation have declined pretty dramatically, the result is that there are a lot of online colleges that are not up to the standard that you would expect.
Most of the issues that you will find with degree programs that are regionally accredited but not up to the same standard are the strictly online, for profit schools, although some of these have started to offer classroom attendance as well which just makes things more confusing. A good example of this is the University of Phoenix which was clearly set up as a money making venture more than as an educational institution. The result is very low standards and a degree that is not well respected despite the very high tuition rates.
The other issue that you are going to face when it comes to online degrees is whether or not potential employers consider them to be the equal of a regular degree. Again this is going to depend on where you go to school. The best option is generally to attend a state university, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the one in your state. State universities while not generally considered the equivalent of schools like Harvard are generally respected and should not cause an issue if they appear on your resume. In addition almost all state universities have far more on campus students than online ones and in almost all cases have the same classes and requirements for both.

2 comments:

  1. Finding the fastest degree programs available is growing in importance to people today. With a fast-paced, rapidly progressing degree program, you can quickly advance your education and your career, even if you're starting the degree from scratch. There are many different possibilities today for individuals seeking the fastest degrees they can find. For more details, Cick here

    ReplyDelete
  2. Online degree programs offer convenience, and many offer tuition payment plans, tuition rates and financial aid which make them affordable. It has the advantage of not holding a student hostage to some of the demands of a traditional college or university setting.

    ReplyDelete

Related Post