Online Degree vs. Traditional?

Question

I've read many answers to similar questions, but they're all different and confusing. I want to be a high-school counselor, but with my schedule and responsibilities it's hard to find a way to go to a traditional school. Would an online degree be looked down upon? [And if not,] what is a good online school to look into? Help?

Answer 1

I'm going to cut and paste an answer that I wrote on this for someone else recently:

I'm a librarian, and although I did my MA in person, the program that I attended, at a state university, is now available completely online. Presently I'm contemplating a second master's degree via a program offered online at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. It's not my first choice to do graduate work online, but I can't find the degree that I'm interested in offered locally to students that can only attend part-time.

Beware of the for-profit colleges and universities, online or in person. A for-profit institution has a fundamental conflict of interest when it comes to educating you; the profit margin trumps the sudent's needs every time. Some of these ARE accredited, but I wouldn't go to any of them.

Lots of state colleges and universities now offer some online degree programs. Surf the websites of the legitimate schools in your state to see what's offered.

Check out the link for Peterson's below - look at the link for online & continuing education. Peterson's is a reliable resource - you may be able to find it in hard copy at your local library.

Speaking of your local library, go there! Your friendly, helpful, local librarian will be able to point you to a wealth of resources such as the Peterson's directories.

If you want something to have at home for reference, the guides written by John and Mariah Bear for non-tradtional degree programs are very good. He lists a lot of online and low-residency requirement degee programs that are all legitimate. I've linked one of the books below.

Degreenet, linked below, is an outgrowth of John Bear's work.


Good luck with your search!

Answer 2

Generally speaking on line degrees and corespondence school diplomas are NOT considered valid credentials by some employers, although the schools are accredited by a recognized agency.