Does an online degree have as much value as a degree from a regular four year college?

Question

I'm talking about bachelor's degree for now, but eventually I would like to go for a masters. There are no colleges close enough to me to get a degree in the field that I'm interested in.

Answer 1

It depends on the program. If you are talking about actual online classes given by a legitimate university, then there is no difference in the degree. The classes are usually the same and lecture is online or on dvd. If you are talking about a cheesey internet "university", then it would not have the same value.

Answer 2

Even in the month you graduate HS, there will still be decent colleges accepting applications. In addition, I suggest you consider applying to colleges earlier than that. Apply in the fall. You can always say "no thanks" or even defer your admission for a term or a year, should you need to. But at least this way, you'll have some acceptances lined up should he be stationed locally. Should you take a year off? I don't think you have to, unless you want to, if you follow the plan I mentioned, above. If you did take time off, could you still get scholarships? Absolutely. If you do online school, only do it via a traditional and reputable university, such as UMass Amherst, Northeastern, etc. Avoid the for-profit, "as seen on tv" schools, and other schools do not respect them, and you can have difficulty transferring those classes in certain cases. You will not get the same academic scholarships for online degrees as you would for in-person, no. Many such scholarships rule online students out.

Answer 3

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 (bachelor's or master's), 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 to you.

Answer 4

The OU and the University of London both do reasonable degrees, that have attained a certain acceptance.

However, other on line degrees (Klingon etc.) may not have the same clout. Like any uni, some are viewed as better than others.

Answer 5

Don't buy the crap that getting all these 'degrees' will get you a better job. I haven't been offered one single job despite being just six months away from graduation. I wish I never even went to college. It has been a huge waste of time and money. Save your money and invest it in the stock market and real estate. You'll get a far better return on your money.

Answer 6

depends, area?