Is an online degree equal in the eyes of an employer as a regular degree had you actually went to college?

Question

a nursing degree for instance

Answer 1

Some occupations require some hands-on training in order to be proficient. Nursing is one of these. The nursing degrees you see online are usually Bachelor's degree completion programs. In order to first become a nurse, you would have to complete an Associate's degree in nursing which requires clinicals. Clinicals are supervised training sessions in real situations using student nurses. To the best of my knowledge, you can't get an RN without clinicals.

However, you can get a perfectly valid education online. The state universities and community colleges will be the best and least expensive way to further your education online. Usually degrees obtained online from state universities and colleges will be no different than a degree granted to a student sitting in class. You probably won't get a scholarship, but financial aid is possible.

Stay away from the for-profits because of high cost. Some will be reasonable, but most, like University of Phoenix, overcharge. Also, whether it is deserved or not, there may be a stigma attached to degrees obtained from for-profit, mostly online schools.

There are plenty of state schools that have online programs. The following websites are some for you to consider.

http://www.fhsu.edu/virtualcollege/
http://www.peru.edu/offuttafb/degreeprograms/onlinelearning.htm
http://outreach.uwyo.edu/ocp/
http://www.distance.msstate.edu/
http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/degrees.aspx
http://www.apu.apus.edu/index.htm
http://www.online.uillinois.edu/
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ode/CollegeOverview.asp

All of the above are at least regionally accredited. A few, like University of Wyoming, have the additional program specific accreditations like AACSB.

When you choose a school, make sure it is at least regionally accredited. You can check accreditation at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/search.asp You can learn more about accreditation at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html

Finally, just because a few people don't think of online education as valid, doesn't mean it isn't. Here are a few articles about online education for you.

http://owli.org/home/node/793
http://owli.org/home/node/509
http://owli.org/home/node/10
http://owli.org/home/node/783
http://owli.org/home/node/647
http://owli.org/home/node/1498
http://owli.org/home/node/1230
http://owli.org/home/node/249

Good luck

Answer 2

Definitely! To employers online classes are not as respected as the onsite ones and the reason to this is because when you're doing you're completing your classes online half of the courses need to be hands on which you can not do over the computer, the second reason is people doing their classes online are more likely to cheat or have someone doing all the work for them. These are the reasons employers look down on online degrees.

Answer 3

If I were hiring nurses and saw one of them got their degree "online," I would file the application and resume promptly into the round filing cabinet called a trash can.

Nurses do not only learn out of a book but rather also get hands-on training with needles and such. No online degree can give you this. Go to a community college for heavens sake.

Answer 4

Absolutely not!

Most On-Line universities are For Profit corporations who accept nearly anyone. It is difficult for employers to tell the good ones from the bad ones. In addition, many on-line classes are thought to be less rigorous than normal classes. For a field like Nursing, the practical aspects of the profession demand that students be present.

Many on-line colleges are accredited -- but have regional accreditation -- and lack the more prestigious national accreditation.

See the following article for more on why on-line degrees are not respected.

Answer 5

As a nursing student myself I would encourage not to get an on-line degree. You need the hands on experience taught in a classroom.

Answer 6

depending on the college you get the degree from but these days its very common but it all depends on the school and gpa but alot of time with hands on degrees like nursing they do care

Answer 7

they will look to see if it is from a accredited college. check for that first. its always better to actually go to a school. I would hate to have a nurse that got their degree over line. THEY AIN'T STICKIN' NO FRICKIN' NEEDLE IN MY VEIN!

Answer 8

can someone tell me what is the correct answer for this question?