Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 12:39     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm a SAHM to 2 young kids so an online program works best for me. I'm about to transfer my community college credits over to UMUC. I checked and it is a credited school. I'm about to invest a lot of money in going to school there - will it be for nothing?


You're a mom.

Let's say you have two choices:
A) to allow your teen to stay home and take on line classes from some virtual high school or
B) to watch your teen jump on a bus and head off to high school where REAL people can figure out if she's tired and therefore not performing well or if she's just not working to her potential b/c she's bored or if she's gifted in art b/c she made a beautiful sculpture that's on display

Get it?

If I were to hire someone for a position, and one had an on line degree while the other had a Master's from a state college, whom should I choose? In my experience, those with on line degrees don't value education. It's an easy way out. We've watered down education so much that no one - not even adults - can think critically. Furthermore, it's laziness.


I don't think your comparison is a good one. An adult can presumably pace themselves and learn independently from home. A child cannot as easily. And, there are social aspects to school that are good for children; less so for a grown person. So, I do think it's more important for a child or teen to be in school vs. an adult.

I also think some disciplines simply do not lend themselves to online coursework. That said, a good friend just became a nurse practitioner through distance learning (she was already a nurse) program for a "real" school outside the area. She did all her lab work and hands-on work through a "sister" school in the area.

Lastly, I think many people are confusing convenience with laziness. I don't see suffering through working yourself into the ground, caring for your family and then attending to coursework as anything that the pursuit of martyrdom. If you can do your work online through a proven online or distance course, and it makes your life easier, why not do it? I would never make a hiring decision simply based on the fact that someone didn't go to a brick and mortar school. Talk about lazy!! I would do my job as the hiring official to ascertain whether the person is qualified. Period.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 12:31     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I agree with you. I teach online for UMUC. The work load is much harder than a traditional classroom setting. Most of the learning falls to the student. There is no face to face opportunity where a student can say...I just don't understand and I'm so lost that I can't even begin to articulate what I don't understand. Many of my students comment that they wish they had taken the class in person. So many people think it's going to be easier and then are disappointed to learn how much work and effort it really is.


I'm glad you posted, because I have one qualm about a degree that's all online. Would there be any opportunity for networking? For people who are changing careers, making connections is important.


I got my master's from UMUC and it was in a field I worked in. I think that this is the market for online programs because had I not already had a experience to draw from, it would have been 10 times harder.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 12:16     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think online classes are getting harder. My husband is getting his second masters online. He has so much reading, every other day he has post comments then comment on 2 other people's comments and do weekly assignments. It is way more time commitment than a brick and mortar school class.


I agree with you. I teach online for UMUC. The work load is much harder than a traditional classroom setting. Most of the learning falls to the student. There is no face to face opportunity where a student can say...I just don't understand and I'm so lost that I can't even begin to articulate what I don't understand. Many of my students comment that they wish they had taken the class in person. So many people think it's going to be easier and then are disappointed to learn how much work and effort it really is.


This... I finished a master that was completely online from my school were I did my undergrad. It was a hands-on design program and it was a huge commitment compared to traditional face-to face learning. There were discussions on-going throughout the courses with my peers and critiques of my assignments were all handled online. Adobe connect sessions to get feedback from my professors. I would often feel jealous of folks who could just show up to a traditional class twice a week, instead I had to be actively engaged all week with deadlines almost everyday. Anyone who believes online programs are lazy and not as much work have no idea what they are talking about.

And if you are a person responsible for hiring and you continue this unfair bias, shame on you for not keeping up with the technology.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 11:34     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:
I agree with you. I teach online for UMUC. The work load is much harder than a traditional classroom setting. Most of the learning falls to the student. There is no face to face opportunity where a student can say...I just don't understand and I'm so lost that I can't even begin to articulate what I don't understand. Many of my students comment that they wish they had taken the class in person. So many people think it's going to be easier and then are disappointed to learn how much work and effort it really is.


I'm glad you posted, because I have one qualm about a degree that's all online. Would there be any opportunity for networking? For people who are changing careers, making connections is important.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 11:22     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:I think online classes are getting harder. My husband is getting his second masters online. He has so much reading, every other day he has post comments then comment on 2 other people's comments and do weekly assignments. It is way more time commitment than a brick and mortar school class.


I agree with you. I teach online for UMUC. The work load is much harder than a traditional classroom setting. Most of the learning falls to the student. There is no face to face opportunity where a student can say...I just don't understand and I'm so lost that I can't even begin to articulate what I don't understand. Many of my students comment that they wish they had taken the class in person. So many people think it's going to be easier and then are disappointed to learn how much work and effort it really is.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 11:14     Subject: Re:S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:I'm moved to post because I recalled this heated conversation (and was surprised that people do not understand why online degrees are viewed with skepticism by hiriing managers.)

I just sifted through 100 resumes for a $20/hour entry-level position at my company. I tossed out any applicant that had a degree from Strayer (5 of these) and UMUC (1 of these) and who had no other job-related experience proving their abilities. In part this is simply because as a hiring manager, I can only focus on the 10-15 resumes that seem highly likely to work out for my company. Getting a degree from one of these places is disqualifying and a strike against a job candidate. I strongly urge anyone who wants a degree in order to improve his or her job prospects must understand that a bricks and morter education from a reputable institution is well worth it. There are a lot of people out there shilling degrees, and it's easy to talk yourself into wanting to do the degree online (it is more convenient), but it troubles me how worthless these degrees really are.

Here's a related article that also makes this point:
http://www.ecampusnews.com/funding/senators-go-after-worthless-college-degrees/email/


It's unfortunate that you didn't investigate UMUC before you made your selection. It's a state college, has a long history of offering distance education to, for instance, members of the US military. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

http://www.umuc.edu/accreditation/

Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 11:11     Subject: Re:S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:As an employer, I tried to hire people who have degrees from real places (UMUC, UMBC, Drexel, etc). Whether they were online or not, I do not care. I trust these institutions to give out degrees to those that earn them.

My problem with places like Strayer, Phoenix, and the like is that people who earn their degrees do not seem to have the skills that go with these degrees. I do not think this is because the classes are online. I think it is because they give out credit for life experience and $$$- doing this may make it easier to get a degree, but it also means you need less training/skills learned to get that degree...which is why their graduates do not have what it takes to do the work. I also think these places are designed to graduate as many people as possible. I have seen Strayer do things that no proper college would do (like retroactively awarding a degree to someone who did not have enough credits, because they wrote a check and credits were adding to their transcript based on life experience).
These types of schools just can't be compared with most of the online programs offered by traditional 'brick and mortar' schools.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 11:09     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:

I'm 36. I don't disagree with most of what your post. I never said I wouldn't hire someone with an online degree. But the fact is I get TONS of qualified applicants for every open position, and unfortunately I just don't have the time to sift through every single resume looking for that diamond in the rough. If someone with an online degree had some other type of really amazing specialized experience that set him/her apart from the pack, I would certainly consider hiring that person. But if I get 20 resumes with similar qualifications and I can only interview 5 people, chances are it's going to be the ones who got a degree from an in-person school.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that I'm holding out for applicants from "prestigious" schools. I definitely never said that. But you should know that my workplace (like many others) requires applicants to submit a transcript, of course I know whether or not an applicant has "just barely passed." If it was between someone who just barely passed from Harvard vs. someone who got straight As at an online school, I very well might favor the online school grad. But it's never like that. Usually it's the difference between someone who got straight As at a decent well-respected in-person school vs. someone who got straight As at an online school, and in that case, it's a no-brainer.


No, it's lazy.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 10:51     Subject: Re:S/O why are online degrees useless?
As an employer, I tried to hire people who have degrees from real places (UMUC, UMBC, Drexel, etc). Whether they were online or not, I do not care. I trust these institutions to give out degrees to those that earn them.

My problem with places like Strayer, Phoenix, and the like is that people who earn their degrees do not seem to have the skills that go with these degrees. I do not think this is because the classes are online. I think it is because they give out credit for life experience and $$$- doing this may make it easier to get a degree, but it also means you need less training/skills learned to get that degree...which is why their graduates do not have what it takes to do the work. I also think these places are designed to graduate as many people as possible. I have seen Strayer do things that no proper college would do (like retroactively awarding a degree to someone who did not have enough credits, because they wrote a check and credits were adding to their transcript based on life experience).
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 10:29     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Johns Hopkins offers several online master's degrees. I think we can all agree that JH is not a lower tier school, and you will work your ass off.


There's actually a good amount of internal debate at JHU about whether the online MA programs are comparable to a traditional bricks and mortar program. Opinions tend to fall in three rough groups: 1) they are fine for disciplines that don't require hands-on learning 2) they are unequal cash cows 3) online is the future, and it has the potential to equal traditional classroom approaches, but we still need to work out the kinks.
I agree with you that disciplines that don't require hands on are good. However, many science related degrees (nursing, for example) allow an online component and hands-on in medical settings.

Strayer and Johns Hopkins online programs can't be compared....kinks or not.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 10:24     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Johns Hopkins offers several online master's degrees. I think we can all agree that JH is not a lower tier school, and you will work your ass off.


There's actually a good amount of internal debate at JHU about whether the online MA programs are comparable to a traditional bricks and mortar program. Opinions tend to fall in three rough groups: 1) they are fine for disciplines that don't require hands-on learning 2) they are unequal cash cows 3) online is the future, and it has the potential to equal traditional classroom approaches, but we still need to work out the kinks.
There are dozens of highly reputable universities that offer online programs including Harvard's Extension Program. While there may be internal debate, I doubt that reputable universities who strive on academic successes and their reputations would jeopardize this by utilizing sub par programs. Kinks, maybe. Inadequate, doubtful.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 10:17     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
I think online classes are getting harder. My husband is getting his second masters online. He has so much reading, every other day he has post comments then comment on 2 other people's comments and do weekly assignments. It is way more time commitment than a brick and mortar school class.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 10:15     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:Johns Hopkins offers several online master's degrees. I think we can all agree that JH is not a lower tier school, and you will work your ass off.


There's actually a good amount of internal debate at JHU about whether the online MA programs are comparable to a traditional bricks and mortar program. Opinions tend to fall in three rough groups: 1) they are fine for disciplines that don't require hands-on learning 2) they are unequal cash cows 3) online is the future, and it has the potential to equal traditional classroom approaches, but we still need to work out the kinks.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 10:09     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Johns Hopkins offers several online master's degrees. I think we can all agree that JH is not a lower tier school, and you will work your ass off.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2013 09:57     Subject: S/O why are online degrees useless?
Anonymous wrote:It's lazy - plain and simple.

I never hear anyone tell me that they love their on line courses b/c they're so challenging. They're easier; that's all.

I have three degrees. When I earned my master's degree, I took classes with on line components, which was fine.

But all on line? You can't tell crap about a person's ability.

Would you HIRE a person based on an "interview" conducted through email? Or would you rather interview the person face-to-face?
This such bullshit. If you had an opportunity to earn an online degree from an Ivy, would you say no? Well, maybe if you weren't smart enough to handle the work. In the good online programs at reputable universities, the work is actually harder and more of it than a brick and mortar because you have to work independently. Most colleges offer a combination of in-house and online classes. Even my son's private high school offers online classes for senior year. I highly doubt his college applications will be kicked to the curb because he elected to take two classes online.