How good are those online degrees in the real world?
Question:
Answer:
An online college or graduate degree needs to be accredited by a regionally accredited organization recognized by the department of education. Examples of such names are: The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, The Southern Association of Colleges and School. There are six such accrediting organizations. I have listed them below:
The six regional accreditors are:
Middle State Association of Colleges and Schools
www.msache.org
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
www.neasc.org
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
www.ncacihe.org
Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
www.cocnasc.org
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
www.sacs.org
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
www.wascweb.org
Distance education is gaining more credibility in the business world because it allows the flexibility to study anywhere.
Where to go depends on your major and what you plan to do after you get the degree. You also want to find out if there are programs that will let you do everything online with limited commuting to a campus.
My recommendation is to find an established school with accreditation. There are many "brick and mortar" schools with excellent distance education programs. Investigate whether your employer has a relationship with any online programs with the possibility of them paying for your education.
I got my masters from an online program while working full time and raising a young child. It did pay off after graduating, and I encourage you to try!
Im not sure, i go to an actual university. If you do an online degree make sure that it is a proper university course, since anybody can sell online degrees, however not all employers will recoginse it.
It's more than just accreditation - accreditation is the baseline. As another poster said, it's also the reputation of the school. And most "online" schools don't have good reps. Consider your options carefully.
There are reputable, "brick and mortar" schools that offer degrees online. Their good reputation for their on-campus programs will flow over into their online program.
So to be quite blunt, an online OR an offline degree from U Phoenix, or Devry, or ITT, will only get you so far, because the reputations of these schools isn't the greatest. Some employers (like every company I've ever worked for) will not hire people out of these schools. Others, of course, aren't as picky, but do keep this in mind.
A degree of any sort from UMass Amherst, or U Nebraska Lincoln, or U Maryland, will likely be seen as more acceptable by more employers, and may, therefore, get you further.
Some great universities that offer online degrees include:
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
University of Denver
University of Maryland
Duke University
Drexel
Carnegie Mellon
Penn State
Ball State
U Nebraska - Lincoln
Babson
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
University of Illinois
And there are others. But in general, when you're looking for a distance learning degree, try to find a program at a school that has a good reputation for their "brick and mortar" campus. In fact, you can start with your local state university system and see what they have to offer.
Good luck.
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