JoJo90814 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I am currently thinking about finishing my bachelors online but am not sure if I should just continue at the school im at ( a Cal State school). What is your opinion of Online degrees? Are they not taken as seriously? How much do they cost? Link to comment
Mlost Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I've actually been seeing a lot of articles regarding online degrees. Magazines like US News and Newsweek have researched this and online degrees are becoming much more respected by companies in the last several years. But also, a degree is still worth more coming from certain institutions. An online degree with Devry, etc. won't count nearly as much as an online degree from a more prestigious school. Basically, what I remember reading is that if a certified 4-year university offers an online program, it is respected nearly as much as an in-person education. But going through places that are only online is still seen as somewhat sketchy. Did you know that Harvard has an online Master of Finance program? All that's required is a 3 day orientation seminar in person and that's it. You graduate with a full Harvard degree. Cost varies like any other colleges, but they're definitely much cheaper, and you save on overhead like parking passes, gas, etc. If you can get into an online program at the Cal State you're at or another good 4 year college, go for it if it makes sense to you. Link to comment
RedSoxFan84 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Yeah, I totally agree. I would take online classes through a respected university, not just one that is online-only. I've heard a lot of stories about those and wouldn't feel confident spending my money on one. Link to comment
karvala Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I am currently thinking about finishing my bachelors online but am not sure if I should just continue at the school im at ( a Cal State school). What is your opinion of Online degrees? Are they not taken as seriously? How much do they cost? No they're not taken as seriously, or very seriously at all in fact, and for the most part, rightly so. If you don't want your CV to be laughed at, I'd think long and hard before going that route. Sorry to be blunt, but I'd hate for you to make an expensive mistake unnecessarily. Link to comment
thejigsup Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Everyone is telling you the truth. I live in L.A. and I have shied away from online colleges. They are not taken very seriously out here. However, if you take an online class from an established college or university, it is viewed very well. I have taken online classes from UCLA, and they were accepted by a very nice, private, college. Link to comment
Mlost Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 No they're not taken as seriously, or very seriously at all in fact, and for the most part, rightly so. If you don't want your CV to be laughed at, I'd think long and hard before going that route. Sorry to be blunt, but I'd hate for you to make an expensive mistake unnecessarily. In this day and age when you can do everything from grocery shopping to finding your spouse online, the "contempt" for online degrees has gone down drastically. One way to follow the trend is to see how many respected universities out there now offer full or nearly fully degrees online, like I said earlier, every college from Cal States to Ivy League. I agree that they are not taken as seriously, but to say that people would be laughed at is warping the issue too much, IMO. 90% of your education becomes absolutely worthless once you enter the workforce anyways. So, it doesn't matter if you learned in a classroom or on your computer. Link to comment
stella74 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 I agree with the other posters. There are some really great online programs out there. For example, I have a friend who is got her MLIS at San Jose State Univ. It is one of the only accredited universities in California for a Masters to be a librarian. And their distance learning degree is highly respected. Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford and UCLA also all have great online degree programs. But the majority of online programs are not so well thought of. So you need to do your research. Link to comment
JoJo90814 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 OK so I found a couple of online programs that are apart of the Cal State systems. I think that if you are to do one of these online programs through the Cal State system, you do not even need to say that it is an online program on your CV, right? Link to comment
Mlost Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 OK so I found a couple of online programs that are apart of the Cal State systems. I think that if you are to do one of these online programs through the Cal State system, you do not even need to say that it is an online program on your CV, right? Is it a full online degree, or are there certain classes that are online? I graduated from a Cal State and took, I think, 4 classes online. I have a regular diploma. The registrar should be able to tell you all about that. Link to comment
karvala Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 In this day and age when you can do everything from grocery shopping to finding your spouse online, the "contempt" for online degrees has gone down drastically. One way to follow the trend is to see how many respected universities out there now offer full or nearly fully degrees online, like I said earlier, every college from Cal States to Ivy League. I agree that they are not taken as seriously, but to say that people would be laughed at is warping the issue too much, IMO. 90% of your education becomes absolutely worthless once you enter the workforce anyways. So, it doesn't matter if you learned in a classroom or on your computer. The day and age for grocery shopping or finding your spouse online and for online degrees is the same. With respect to the trend you mention, I think you misunderstand the source of the contempt. It is not for the fact that people are learning online; it's not an optimal environment for learning by any means, but it can be okay for many types of degree. It is the fact that most *fully* online degrees, which is what the original poster is referring to, are offered by academic institutions of dubious repute. That is the source of the problem, and the ability to do many other things online does little to remove that stigma. Similarly, whether or not the education is worthless in regard to future employment, which is a debatable point, is a non sequitur. It doesn't matter; what we're talking about is the ability to get a job. Do you seriously think employers won't care where your degree comes from on the grounds that you're not going to use much of it in their workplace anyway?! If the OP does a mostly online degree at MIT, fine. No problem, or at least not much of one. If she does a fully online degree from link removed, she'll be laughed at. That's not an exaggeration, that's a reality, regardless of whether or not you think it should be. Link to comment
Mlost Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 From what I read, the OP was talking about online degrees, not "online universities." I agree with everything about the programs from dubious organizations, I was the first one to mention it. But a fully online degree from a well-recognized university is not looked down on as much as a lot of people think. I feel you misquoted me "Do you seriously think employers won't care where your degree comes from on the grounds that you're not going to use much of it in their workplace anyway?!" Of course they care about the actual college, but I don't think they care as much about the means by which you get your degree. Link to comment
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