Does an Online Degree have the same value as a tradtional one?

Question

I am thinking of getting my Ph.d. in either Business Leadership or Organizational Communication, but the schools I am interested in are not in the places I want to live in and those that are do not have programs I am interested in learning. I mean there is an awesome school in Fargo but I happen to be a beach dweller and hate the snow. I was thinking about getting my degree from an online University instead, but do not want to diminish the worth of my degree simply because it is from an accreditied school like Pheonix Online University VS University of South Florida. Can anyone give advice as to what I should really be considering?

Answer 1

You're much better off going to a real school with a real campus. Employers want to know if you interact well with others and that can only come through membership in campus organizations and face-to-face interaction with the faculty. Plus - there are a lot of phony on-line universities that for a fee will give you a degree in the field of your choice complete with a phony transcript and you never have to do a lick of work. Employers know the names of these outfits so be careful. The Univ. of Phoenix is recognized as being legitimate however. And I find it difficult to believe there isn't a Sunbelt school that doesn't offer a degree in Organizational Communication.....that's one of the fastest-growing areas in the field of communication.

Answer 2

If the school is accredited by a recognized college accreditation board, then the degree should be equally valid. Please be aware, by law, anyone can issue an accreditation, and some of the on-line, as well as real colleges are accredited by not -so-widely-recognized accreditation board. Those are very much useless.

This question is similar to, does degree from all colleges equally valuable. The answer is NO. MBA from Princeton is far more valuable from MBA from little known college somewhere-in-the-US. Also, today, on-line degrees are generally thought as lesser of two. It may change as time go by, but right now, that is the way it is.

A college degree from a University A or B is only valuable in the eye of the person who will see your resume. Sometimes, some employer has certain likes and dislikes toward certain universities. Also, people tend to value colleges differently.

My advise is, do the best you can, but if you have a choice, pick a NON on-line college, and pick a better known one. Personally, if I am going to spend that much energy to get a PhD, I will pick a non-on-line college.

Obviously, having a degree from any college is better than not having one from from any.

Answer 3

First off, I think this is a really great question. I am involved in the hiring process at my place of employment and I can tell you I definitely have a bias towards online degrees. Many of my colleagues refer to them as degree mills. Meaning that the programs put more value into generating revenue and producing as many graduates as possible but do not offer a quality learning experience. So when I see someone with a degree from an online school I have to understand that they are not receiving the same education because they are going to miss out on the one on one mentoring process that occur at traditional Universities. I'm not sure if that will help but that's my two cents.

Answer 4

An online degree is nowhere near the quality of a 'tradtional' degree in the eyes of an employer. Showing that you took initative to commit to a brick and mortar university and not just do it at the computer, espically to the PhD level will make you looked more favorably upon. It depends also on how far you are in college. Do you already have your BS/BA, how much graduate school do you already have?,disartations...ect...
stick with a solid college.

Answer 5

Depends on how you intend to apply your degree and, of course the recogntion of the online school. If the eventuall career was in the applied sciences, the online degee offers littlle in practical training.

MBAs, on the other hand or the in directions you've indicated, it may not matter as much. As long as it's clear you are ONLY speaking of accredited schools. Pheonix has a good rep.

There is a certain snob appeal to a bricks and mortar school. and some future employer may turn his nose up at yours. For these situations, you can either say, to yourself, "Who cares what you think, I don't want to work for you, anyway." or, you can think, "Well, there's one opportunity that got away because I like the beach and don't like snow."

But, wha'th'hell. The rest of your life is going to be spent on making choices, and many of them will not be as easy as this one.

Answer 6

When I review people's resumes, I view online degrees as sub-par. C'mon, you get "Life Credits" for stuff like holding a job or having kids. I'm not saying that there isn't a learning experience in those things, but they're not something I feel someone should receive university credits for. Is it possible to do a distance learning thing, where you can "attend" classes via satellite then check-in every few months at the university?

Answer 7

I believe it does. I think it is harder to obtain an honest degree on-line because you cant see the instructor for questions like you would in a traditional setting. Also you have to discipline yourself in order to sit and do the work.

Answer 8

You might want to look at the different kinds of accredition for the schools you're looking at. I know that Phoenix Online is nationally accredited. You might want to look at this page: http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_national_and_local_accreditation

Answer 9

check where the schools are accredited from. and as long as u know what you are doing, where you learned from doesnt really matter.

Answer 10

If they teach you online well enough, it shouldn't matter.