Anonymous wrote:If we are telling you they are crap and we consider them a joke - why would you pay (because online is not an investment) so much money?
Also us brick and motor folks think you are lazy. I had plenty of friends in college and law school who were parents (some single), worked, and attended school.

Stanford, U. of Chicago, Northwestern, etc., all offer online classes and degrees. Northwestern offers a Master's in Medical Informatics which is where I received my degree. You don't know what you're talking about. Apparently, a brick and mortar school was wasted on you since you are too lazy to even do research about the schools before offering an unsubstantiated opinion.

I think it depends on how you intend to position or use your degree. If you are a career government employee who started as an administrative professional and plan to retire but you want to transition to a professional series; online degrees from Strayer, UofP, Capella, Adelphi, etc... should be just fine. If you are new to the job market or you are trying to change careers entirely, a brick and mortar school with a mix of in-person and online classes should be fine.

If you are a working professional in a major city who wants to enter a traditionally high paying field that places a premium on intellect (consulting, investment banking, law, advertising, consumer marketing, finance, etc...), then you should pursue degrees from Top 10-25, brick an mortar universities. Getting an MBA from a school that doesn't require the GMAT won't get you far in NYC. Likewise... a potential employer will give an edge to someone with a law degree from Georgetown, Columbia, Yale over someone with a degree from say Brooklyn Law (although its an accredited law school).

You need to know your market, really understand the hiring climate and have realistic expectations about what an online degree can do for your career. In DC, most government contract employers just have to "satisfy the requirements" of the key personnel working on the contract (degree, 15 years exp, specific certification, etc...); they don't care where you earned your degree if you can do the job. I think that's why a lot of the online degree programs have exploded in DC; because government contractors just have to put butts in seats and they pay well. Most lobbyists, lawyers, consultants and other corporate professionals in DC have brick and mortar degrees from very well regarded universities and ivies.

Unfortunately, an online degree doesn't make you automatically competitive in the job market. An online degree is not an easy answer to the question on where to pursue a degree. Do your homework, think about where you want to be 15-20 years from now, earning potential, debt incurred and the professional payoff.

Good luck!

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?

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.

Do you know why many SAHMs choose UMUC? Because they are also military spouses, and many of them are stationed overseas in a foreign country where they have no access to colleges that are affordable since they are in a foreign country. In addition, many military bases have an education center and offer f2f classes through UMUC along with the option to take online courses. If you do not know the situation of this woman, you should refrain from assuming you know what is best for her. Maybe she's a SAHM because financially it would cost more for her to go out to work and put the children in daycare. We should be encouraging a person to better themselves, and not try to deflate them by condemning their choices. I am a military spouse of 25 years and UMUC is the school they encourage military members to use in order to better themselves for future life after the military. Are you going to denigrate their online degrees too?

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/

Your link was bad. It should be: http://www.ecampusnews.com/funding/senators-go-after-worthless-college-degrees/

I'm a bit skeptical about your skills, too.

UMUC is a real school located in Adelphi, MD. The campus used to be right across the street from UMCP and uses some of UMCP's resources.
It's also regionally accredited and part of the University of Maryland degree granting system. UMUC does offer classes online, but your post here certainly shows your ignorance about the school and do a disservice to your credibility.

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/

You do understand that UMUC is a brick and mortar school that also offers online classes, right?

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/

UMUC isn't all online, knucklehead, and if it's about general college prestige, then that's an altogether different story.

God, more than losing faith in graduates with online degrees, I am losing faith in all hiring managers through this thread...

I also thought that resumes with online degrees would be tossed. But I worked for a large company and at least two people there had degrees from Strayer. And I worked at an agency where there were people with Phoenix University degrees. And the bosses who hired the people had Ivy degrees or were grads from top 10-15 schools. So I guess you can't discount them across the board.

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/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/07/30/for-profit-colleges-senate-report_n_1721058.html?utm_hp_ref=business

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking an online class right now and there is a ton of reading, writing and research involved. We also just completed a group project which was a great challenge.

Took another class at a school with a professor a few weeks ago and it was hell. He could care less, never answered questions and frustrated the hell out of us. He never gave us a straight answer about anything. His tests were a joke and I was surprised that this guy was a professor and has been teaching for 8 years.

I also find that most professors don't add much to their lecture and read right off of their notes that they've written. Sometimes line for line. I can read someone's lectures notes and the book at home. Why do I have to sit in a classroom for someone to read to me?

You're comparing apples and oranges. I agree that you are better off with a great online professor than a crappy in-person professor. But you are WAY better off with a great in-person professor than a great online professor.

When I make hiring decisions, I don't have any information about the particular professors an applicant had. I have to just make generalizations based on probability And the probability is that someone with a "real" degree got a better education than someone with an online degree, so that's who I'm more likely to hire. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. But I get too many resumes across my desk to figure that out on a case by case basis.

It saddens me that people like you are in the position to hire. Just because someone went to a brick and mortar school and a prestigious one as well, does not mean they have what it takes to be exceptional employees. Sadly, you look at a piece of paper and based on the the school that's written under education you make assumptions. You think you are guaranteed to get a better employee simply based on where they got their education from? I've met many professionals with outstanding schooling and resumes. They were worthless employees, lazy, late with terrible people skills. You also would not know if this person from a brick and mortar school just barely passed and got their degree, completing the minimum amount of work just to get by. What kind of an employee would that person make? Would that make a difference if you knew?

You are one of those people who puts way to much emphasis on where someone graduated from. But I'm sure you don't care, thus passing up great potential employees because of your preconceived notions.

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.

Anonymous wrote:
When I make hiring decisions, I don't have any information about the particular professors an applicant had. I have to just make generalizations based on probability And the probability is that someone with a "real" degree got a better education than someone with an online degree, so that's who I'm more likely to hire. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. But I get too many resumes across my desk to figure that out on a case by case basis.

That attitude makes an excellent case for earning a degree from a school with a bricks and mortar presence, that doesn't show on a transcript which classes were taken in person and which were taken on-line.

In about 7 years, though, I predict this attitude will have fallen by the wayside. There is a sea change coming in higher education. We need to prepare students for the real world and the real world, more and more, is highly connected and communicates online.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking an online class right now and there is a ton of reading, writing and research involved. We also just completed a group project which was a great challenge.

Took another class at a school with a professor a few weeks ago and it was hell. He could care less, never answered questions and frustrated the hell out of us. He never gave us a straight answer about anything. His tests were a joke and I was surprised that this guy was a professor and has been teaching for 8 years.

I also find that most professors don't add much to their lecture and read right off of their notes that they've written. Sometimes line for line. I can read someone's lectures notes and the book at home. Why do I have to sit in a classroom for someone to read to me?

You're comparing apples and oranges. I agree that you are better off with a great online professor than a crappy in-person professor. But you are WAY better off with a great in-person professor than a great online professor.

When I make hiring decisions, I don't have any information about the particular professors an applicant had. I have to just make generalizations based on probability And the probability is that someone with a "real" degree got a better education than someone with an online degree, so that's who I'm more likely to hire. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. But I get too many resumes across my desk to figure that out on a case by case basis.

are you 50 years old?

Age has nothing to do with it. My mother is in her 60's and is incredibly tech savvy, as she's not afraid of learning. This "educator" sounds incredibly lazy and resistant to change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking an online class right now and there is a ton of reading, writing and research involved. We also just completed a group project which was a great challenge.

Took another class at a school with a professor a few weeks ago and it was hell. He could care less, never answered questions and frustrated the hell out of us. He never gave us a straight answer about anything. His tests were a joke and I was surprised that this guy was a professor and has been teaching for 8 years.

I also find that most professors don't add much to their lecture and read right off of their notes that they've written. Sometimes line for line. I can read someone's lectures notes and the book at home. Why do I have to sit in a classroom for someone to read to me?

You're comparing apples and oranges. I agree that you are better off with a great online professor than a crappy in-person professor. But you are WAY better off with a great in-person professor than a great online professor.

When I make hiring decisions, I don't have any information about the particular professors an applicant had. I have to just make generalizations based on probability And the probability is that someone with a "real" degree got a better education than someone with an online degree, so that's who I'm more likely to hire. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. But I get too many resumes across my desk to figure that out on a case by case basis.

are you 50 years old?

Yes, this person is an old dirt bag and a asshole.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking an online class right now and there is a ton of reading, writing and research involved. We also just completed a group project which was a great challenge.

Took another class at a school with a professor a few weeks ago and it was hell. He could care less, never answered questions and frustrated the hell out of us. He never gave us a straight answer about anything. His tests were a joke and I was surprised that this guy was a professor and has been teaching for 8 years.

I also find that most professors don't add much to their lecture and read right off of their notes that they've written. Sometimes line for line. I can read someone's lectures notes and the book at home. Why do I have to sit in a classroom for someone to read to me?

You're comparing apples and oranges. I agree that you are better off with a great online professor than a crappy in-person professor. But you are WAY better off with a great in-person professor than a great online professor.

When I make hiring decisions, I don't have any information about the particular professors an applicant had. I have to just make generalizations based on probability And the probability is that someone with a "real" degree got a better education than someone with an online degree, so that's who I'm more likely to hire. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. But I get too many resumes across my desk to figure that out on a case by case basis.

It saddens me that people like you are in the position to hire. Just because someone went to a brick and mortar school and a prestigious one as well, does not mean they have what it takes to be exceptional employees. Sadly, you look at a piece of paper and based on the the school that's written under education you make assumptions. You think you are guaranteed to get a better employee simply based on where they got their education from? I've met many professionals with outstanding schooling and resumes. They were worthless employees, lazy, late with terrible people skills. You also would not know if this person from a brick and mortar school just barely passed and got their degree, completing the minimum amount of work just to get by. What kind of an employee would that person make? Would that make a difference if you knew?

You are one of those people who puts way to much emphasis on where someone graduated from. But I'm sure you don't care, thus passing up great potential employees because of your preconceived notions.