How do employers and h.r. view applicants that have degrees from online accredited colleges? While employed?

Question

I work full-time and have been able to take some night/weekend classes, but would like to take more from online universities. How do employers view this - positively or negatively?

Answer 1

Online education is better than no education. However, if you are being considered along with someone else with a degree from a traditional university, they will have better chances of being hired. It also depends on your experience and skill level. I've known some high-level executives who have had years of experience in their field and did not receive an MBA until years later from an online school. In their case, they have the industry experience and the MBA is just a little extra.

Answer 2

Taranto wrote "most have the easy-to-get regional accreditation and lack the more respected National Accerditation." Taranto is dead wrong here regarding accreditation and it's that sort of suggestion that causes people problems and wasted money. This isn't a hard concept to understand, regional accreditation is higher than national accreditation. SACS (the regional agency that accredits Duke University for example) is higher than DETC (the national agency that accredits PCDI and Ashworth for example). A regionally accredited school (such as every state university in the country and all of the Ivies like Harvard and Yale and about every legitimate college you know of) will not accept credit from a nationally accredited school in almost all circumstances. Regional accreditation is the standard you want your school to have. It's just that simple. We have to stop telling people wrong accreditation information - if you don't understand accreditation in the US then don't answer the questions. This has the potential to cost someone tens-of-thousands of dollars. Why is this so hard to grasp? RA is higher than NA - repeat after me. Regional accreditation is better. Many of the low reputation online schools are indeed regionally accredited - some writers on this forum have not done their homework or are simply ignorant. Academic research of the past two years shows that employers think of degrees not by delivery method of online vs traditional (just about all degrees now have some component online, some more than others) but instead based upon the reputation of the school that awarded the degree. The diploma and transcripts rarely say "online" on them. What the employer cares about is whether you know anything, not how you learned it. Some schools (online or traditional) have a stellar reputation and some have a poor reputation. If you complete your degree online through a school with a good reputation (Univ. Mass., Florida State, UCal., etc...) then it will generally be accepted much better than if you complete it at a school with a reputation for "you can get your degree online in less than 3 years easily....." The schools that advertise heavily on TV as being an easy shortcut have damaged their own reputations, there is no easy way to a quality education - it takes study and work and time. That's all that makes it valuable in the marketplace. The diploma has no value, the education that the diploma represents has value (or not). Make sure that the school you are considering is regionally accredited and that it is the best school you can get into. (the same applies to going to traditional classes). Be prepared that online courses at a quality school are harder than those in the classroom. Online courses are about a lot of writing and text reading on your own. You will take fewer multiple guess tests and write more papers for grades online. Most colleges and universities now have online programs of some sort. The number of new programs increases every day. This is the way education is going to go and people who say it's not are just being blind like the people who said 'nobody will shop online' not that many years ago. Even Harvard U. is in the online classroom now. Some people seem to be resisting the change without good reason just as there are still some people who are afraid of doing business on the internet. Let them resist - it's their loss. You have to do the coursework at a college with a good reputation if you want your degree to have a good reputation. You can't pick the easy way unless you want employers to know you prefer the easy way, and that's not a worker attribute most employers like. add: the misinformation just abounds. Most online programs are not for profit - most online programs are through a state run public university. Most online programs you see on TV are for profit, but that's different than most programs. State schools don't do infomercials. The government in the US doesn't accredit schools. The US Dept of Education (not the state) recognizes agencies that accredit schools but they don't review the schools themselves. There are six agencies in the US called regional accreditors that are the highest level of accreditation in the US. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an example. There are also specialized agencies called National Accreditors that recognize some schools and are recognized by the DoE. But, the RA people think the NA people aren't as good as they are and won't accept credit in transfer. Many of the NA schools won't even take credit from each other. Regional accreditation is what you want. Say that 100 times, it's a fact. All online programs don't cost more than all traditional programs. The ones with TV commercials cost too much in most cases. The best price usually comes from your in-state college system. For example if you live in Florida then look at UF and FSU - they both have online degree programs. You do indeed miss some interaction online that you get in the classroom but they are social and not educational interactions. Sitting in a lecture hall with 100 other students while a grad assistant delivers a lecture is not student:professor interaction. Engaging in a 3 hour debate in a chat room with a professor and classmates IS a student:professor interaction. The interaction argument is a straw man debate.

Answer 3

At 48 I decided to return to school and finish my degree, (online) not only was my employer OK with that, but they paid for it. Make sure that the online school is accredited, there are some that are not. A word of advice schedule yourself time, the same time everyday to dedicate to study, and responses, take only one day a week off for yourself. ( I always took Saturday) It does take allot of self discipline but will be worth it in the end.

Answer 4

Many brick-and-mortar schools, like local universities, have online courses available. Check those out. They'll probably be more respected in the workplace, and are often cheaper than the for-profit online schools, especially if you're a resident of the state, or locality, where the school is.

Answer 5

For low level jobs an online degree may be acceptable.... but it won't fly for any high level position. It's an OK alternative for a teacher or civil servant needing to fill in credits, but these degrees are not taken seriously as credentials for mid and upper level positions in major companies. ... in spite of what the schools may be telling you.

Answer 6

Employers will always view education positively. Generally, they will give more respect to brick-and-mortar colleges over online schools, but any education is good.

Answer 7

914

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Just like a high school diploma. It is worthless.