Have you or anyone you know earned a college degree on-line? Are online degrees any good in the real world?
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Answer:
It depends. I do know two people who after five to fifteen years of working, went to University of Phoenix. One advanced at their current company, actually changed careers though. The other was successful at changing careers with a new company. However, neither job was a top-level job, but both were decent jobs at medium sized companies. Also, neither would have gotten the job without their degree.
Even with the success of those two people, I still believe the best way to get a degree online is to attend an online program at a state university. As far as I know, most degrees online from a state university do not indicate they were earned online. A potential employer would probably never know. However, even though UoP does have campuses, a degree from UoP would be perceived as if it were obtained online.
Stay away from the for-profits because of high cost. Some will be reasonable, but most, like University of Phoenix, overcharge. For example, UoP currently charges $494 per semester credit hour. University of Wyoming charges $134. Penn State charges $400. Penn State looks a lot better on a resume than University of Phoenix or any other for-profit university.
If you are just starting your college education or have less than 60 semester credit hours, try your local community college first. They may have an online AA degree program. If they don't, try other community colleges in your state. Sometimes, you can speed up your AA degree by using CLEP and DSST tests. You can get more information on CLEP at http://www.collegeboard.com You can get more information on DSST tests at http://www.getcollegecredit.com...
Once you have an AA degree, you can enroll in an online bachelor's degree completion program at one of the state universities. Many state universities now have online degrees. The following are some websites to get you started.
http://www.fhsu.edu/virtualcollege/...
http://www.peru.edu/offuttafb/degreeprog...
http://outreach.uwyo.edu/ocp/
http://www.distance.msstate.edu/...
http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/degr...
http://www.apu.apus.edu/index.htm...
http://www.online.uillinois.edu/...
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ode/collegeover...
When you choose a school, make sure it is at least regionally accredited. You can check accreditation at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/search.a... You can learn more about accreditation at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/i...
Finally, there are a couple of forums online with members who have obtained their degrees online. Some have gone pretty far with their online degrees. The forums are free to join but you can read the forum without joining. You just won't be able to post. http://forums.degreeinfo.com and http://www.instantcertonline.com/forums...
Good luck
make sure there an accredited university
I've found in my business that if you are working and taking online classes from a State University, it will be taken seriously. For example, if you have a BS and have a job and taking online course to earn an MBA or if you have work expereince in a particular field and taking courses to improve, it will be respected.
However, if you are right out of high school or trying to get a cheesy online degree and do it the easy way, your degree will not be taken seriously, and you may not get the job becuase you're seen as lazy.
Hope this helps.
If the on-line work is attached to an actual university, then yes, it will be taken seriously because when you are issued your degree it won't say anything about it being "on-line." Also, it is very important to make sure that it an accredited and licensed school (which can check with your states Board of Regents if you aren't sure.)
Stay away from the for-profit online schools. Most (probably all) of them are complete jokes. University of Phoenix is certainly a joke. The for-profit schools have virtually no admissions standards, and are expensive diploma mills.
Read this site:
http://uopsucks.com/
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