If you get your online degree from a reputable institution such as University of Phoenix or some other state university does that look as good as if you actually went to a college for 4 years? Can a prospective employer tell the difference? Is it worth it?
I am aware the online degree programs can be much harder. I work a 12 hour rotating shift schedule and cannot attend regular classes each week; even night classes. An online program is the best I could hope for.
Accredited Online Degrees – Online Graduate Degrees
Read about online business degrees
February 27th, 2010 at 6:37 am
Phoenix is not recognized by many …. try Athabasca or thompson rivers
February 27th, 2010 at 7:25 am
Hi,
I’m checking it out too! Some of the online schools are not accredited. Some the credits don’t transfer. I am going to Nevada State College online and it’s totally legit. I’ve been told to ask my school district because I’m going for a degree in education. I know some one who went to University of Phoenix and has a computer job with the state of Nevada.
Take care
February 27th, 2010 at 7:28 am
There are others out there. Even some of the regualr universities offer some courses online. You have to go there to sign up and pay and to get your online access etc and for exams. Otherwise the course is online. These are good as you have to do the exam their way. These are recognized courses and degrees. Look for them as several unis do offer these today.
February 27th, 2010 at 7:39 am
“how good are…” – they are as good (or bad) as the college issuing the degree. 85% of all colleges in the US are teaching online now. This includes the likes of Harvard, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, UCLA, etc… it’s here to stay. The result though will only be as good as the result a particular college can deliver.
“from a reputable institution…” The reputation of the college is paramount only after considering accreditation level. While UoP is regionally accredited, they don’t have such a wonderful reputation. You can a get a degree online from UMass though and they have a pretty good reputation. There are colleges in between there with all sorts of reputation.
“look as good…” sometimes better. Let’s say your choices are YourTown Community College “actually went” or UMass with an online degree. Which “looks better” to you?
“tell the difference” probably – if you live in Florida next year and tell employers you’re attending University of Maine — they just about have to assume you did it online. The diploma usually doesn’t say “online” though and most often transcripts don’t either.
“worth it…” depends on you and your circumstances. If there’s not a good university nearby and it’s the only way you can study in your field – it’s better than watching TV instead. If you can get in to a great school’s online program over a mediocre school’s resident program – great is always better than mediocre. If you’re not self-motivated though, you won’t make it in an online program so then it would have been a waste. There’s nobody to make you get your work done in an online program and you absolutely have to do the readings. If you think going online will be easier than traditional – wrong call. It’s considerably harder.
Cost may well be considerably higher than if you attend the local community college or state U. On the other hand, it may not be – Harvard Extension teaches online at $700 a class. Compare that to tuition at UoP et al.