HRGuru

Hi,

I'd like ti gather opinions of Human Resources professionals regarding online degrees and their value in the marketplace. 

I have extensive resume spanning 10 years in the biotech. industry, but fell short of completing my degree due to various factors.  I strongly wish to complete my degree now but I'm extremely busy and have explored the option of obtaining my degree online.  I know there exists a plethora of online school options and going with a nationally accredited institution is of paramount importantce.  I'm aware that very reputable universities now offer online options but they can be very pricey so I've entertained the idea of attending schools such as University of Phoenix, Ashford University, Thomas Edison State College because they are far more affordable!

My question to you all is, as HR professionals responsible for evaluating job candidates, what is the consensus out there regarding the quality of the job candidate that posesses an online degree?  Are they as respected and considered viable candidates, especially if the university is accredited?  Will I be shunned simply becasuse I completed a degree via "distance learning?"

I just want to finish my BS degree so I can move on to a graduate degree.  I already have 10 years of experience in my field and operate at a Master's level but without the basic BS degree and it REALLY bothers me inside.  If I interviewed with my great resume and with a BS degree acquired online, am I still as viable an option as another candidate that obtained his/her degree at a more "traditional" university?

Thank you VERY kindly for your input and experiences!

It depends why you want the degree. If it just for the letters after your name, choose the one that will leave the smallest dent in your pocket, and the least embarrassment in your stomach. If it is to further your career prospects, choose the one that will give you the KNOWLEDGE you need. As you have already been in the industry for 10 years you will be well aware that having a degree is no indicator that you will work harder, more effectively, or fit in and get on wth your co-workers. Employers are aware of this too. Getting a degree online or via distance education is actually more work than going "ful time". I've tried both, and found that I could hold down a full time job and go to college full time, and pass. I'd tried distance learning, and never completed the degree - too easy to get distracted, procrastinate, or work late on that report instead of study. At full time college, some unfortunate academic with a degree has to stand up in front of you and spoon feed you enough knowledge to pass the exam questions they have set you. Tehy want you to pass, so they don't have to mark your resit, or get a bad record for teaching. They also want you to pass because you are a real person that they can see face to face - if you make it your purpose to become known to them. It's a lot easier to fail by distance, I assure you. IT may cost you less to go back full time - why not travel somewhere outside the USA, where university might be a lot more affordable, just as well respected, and get the international experience that will set you further apart from those competing for the same job?

In academia of course, there is an inherent snobbery about the school that gave you your degree, but if you prove yourself able, even the snobs will warm to you and appreciate your work and opinions. HR people are so inundated with job applications as soon as there is a whisper of a job, that they are mostly in the business of looking for any excuse to whittle the pile down to a manageable size, so a lack of even one checkbox ticked - in your case the degree - will get your resume chucked into the discard heap.

The best strategy, with or without a degree, is to find out the name of the person who actually makes the hiring decisions where you want to work. And then, through your network of friends, ex-classmates (who did or didn't finish their degrees), your current and ex work associates and employers, arrange a meeting with this person. Ask for the job.Explain why you want to work here, for these people, doing this job. You'll be ahead of everyone else who just posted their cover letter and resume to answer the want ad. Most of them, degreed or not, will be in the discard pile.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Sal

Just having recently went through graduate school at a traditional brick and mortar school I may have some insight for you. As salmmcdonagh has already stated it is what you plan on doing with your degree.Sounds like you are planning on gradaute school, and in that case I would have to advise you to go to a traditional college. If the BS is as far as your planning on going, and using it to advance your career, then I would say an accredited online school would be just fine. Stay away from University of Pheonix, as all online institutions have some form of accredidation, however most of these accredidations will not transfer to a traditional university. This may weaken your chances of getting into graduate school.

There are a couple reasons why a traditional school has an advantage over the online programs.

1. Networking - Even though it sounds like career wise your set, however getting into graduate school requires letters of recommendation that must come from undergraduate faculty. Going to a traditional university allows you meet and befriend the facultly allowing you to get those all important letters for grad school.

2. Mentoring - Being in an online class your chances of helping others is a bit limited. In a traditional setting you'll have the opportunity to meet and talk face to face with the next workforce emerging with their educations.This may prove useful in more than one way.

However, it sounds like to me the degree is not only a chance for grad school, but a personal victory you've been wanting for a while. I'm not sure about others here, but where the degree comes from has little to do with advancing your career. What matters is the knowledge and skills you earned match those on the job description and you have verfiable proof of being able to do what you say you can. However, for entrance into graduate school you'll find that alot of professors do not respect the online degree anywhere as much as one from a traditional university. I was planning on completeing my Phd. throuhg capella online, which actually is accredited by an institution that would ensure transferability to a traditional school, and most of my faculty said right out "How will your research, practicum, and comprehensive exams be conducted?" After checking it out online capella offered these things, however it was minimal compared to a traditional school. One dissertation, as opposed to a dissertation, practicum, and other research opportunities. So by doing my Phd. online it severly limited my exposure to research and practicum two compents which are vital in a doctoral program. However, they did have comprehensive exams (Yuck!)

If your goal is to maybe teach college someday or enter grad school the traditional setting is recommended, however if it is to advance your career an online accredited institution (www.capella.edu) maybe your best bet.

Hope this helps out a little. I've not had a cup of coffee yet, and hope this made some sense

The BS degree will not be for learning, networking, etc.  I have been in the biz for 10 years and just need the degree to be more legit.  If I need to change jobs for any reason I need to have that degree.

I was just curious how HR professionals view candidates that have degrees that are OBVIOUSLY from an online school....some online degrees are from traditional schools and can not be discerned between the two versions. 

I am the proud owner of an online degree.  I attended 4 years of college right out of HS; then went back to school and retrained in bricks and mortar alternative college - every other weekend for a year - took fulltime course load and finished my second BS in a year. when it came time for me to earn my Master's - I wanted it in Management because it was versatile and applied nicely with my other two degrees.  Great!  the university at which I was working at the time had the program I wanted to take - AND offered FREE courses (3 per year) to employees - SUPER! Except this degree program that I wanted to take was moved from bricks and mortar to online.  ALL ONLINE! ALL AT ONCE!  No Choice! No free classes...anyway (bitter).  I finished my MSM in 14 months - worked full time while taking full time classes, while I had 5 kids at home, and my husband was deployed.  Online classes allowed me to work at my pace within the class schedule - at whatever time I couldn't sleep or had time in an amongst all of the other crap going on...and it gave me great writing and communication experience.  I had to be able to work in a virtual environment with clear, concise, professional thoughts and be able to turn, excuse me, churn out products at a fevered pace.  I have never written so much in my life and I did miss some of the F2F discussion and interaction, but it worked for me. I think that if the program fits within what you are doing and furthers your knowledge - do EVERYTHING you can to apply your knowledge to what you are doing in class - and what you are doing in class with your real world work. the short answer - i have not yet been discriminated against because i have an online degree.....and I reached my goal. 

I think because of the fact that you are concerned with it being a problem, you have your answer.  Regardless of the program's accreditation, hiring managers more often than not will hold biases against an online degree, based solely on the disreputable practices of a few online degree mills. There will never be a complete consensus one way or the other but why put yourself in the predicament if it's unavoidable?  You are in Ohio so why not Ohio State?  I graduated with my MBA in december from the University of Tennessee and I know my peers and I all worked full time and then would attend a 2:30 hour class in the evening.   I remember a discussion we had in an Entrepreneurship forum over concerns similar to yours.  Many had debated the degree, but for the same 2 reasons you have concerns over (price and credibility), they obviously opted against the decision.  On perhaps a more positive note, many public universities are beginning to provide online degree programs, hopefully in effect mitigating some of the negative connotations that the the cyber degree carries.  I don't know if it's applicable to you but I do know that US News and World Report ranks the undergraduate program at Ohio State's Fisher College of Business 12th in America and the top undergraduate business school in Ohio. The graduate program of the Fisher College is ranked 22nd in America and the top graduate school of business in Ohio.  The Economist ranked The Fisher College as the 29th ranked MBA program in the world in their 2005 "Which MBA?" issue. In 2006, The Public Accounting Report ranked Ohio State's accounting department 9th in the nation for undergraduate programs and 10th in the nation for graduate programs. In each case, the ranking was the highest among Ohio universities.

-Erik

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

From my own personal experience and having my degree from University of Phoenix, I think that a lot of times employers are looking for someone who can simply check the "Bachelor's Degree" box.  I know from looking at thousands of applications, as long as the candidate/applicant can satisfy the minimum qualifications criteria, they can, and usually are moved forward in the process.  That doesn't mean that if you have two candidates, one of which has their degree from Notre Dame and the other from the University of Phoenix, that there will not be some immediate bias, but I think having a degree from any accredited institution is valuable.  Not to mention that fact that I probably paid just as much for my education as someone from a traditional school (if not more).  My college experience at University of Phoenix was very good.  The instructors were professionals in their area of expertise (i.e. for my Employment Law class, I had an instructor who was the HR Director for UPS in Sacramento).  From a practical standpoint, as a working adult, it was much easier to complete my degree at a pace that was conducive to my situation.  Anyway...just a few thoughts!

The people posting here don't just have online experience only, but are working on the degrees that further their career. And their experiences do show that the online degrees are being respected by the HR field.

I am currently working full time in HR and completing my Bachelors in Business Administration with an emphasis in HR Management through an online university.  While the classes are a little more expensive then the local brick and morter school, the time saving is invaluable.  I can complete my studies in the middle of the night if necessary and on the weekends without worrying about time constraints and commuting.

Before I signed up, I was nervous about how it would be perceived - but in the end, the fact is I will have a Bachelors degree and also the work experience to back it up which a lot of people sacrifice to go to school full-time.  In today's "on the go" society, online classes offer great opportunities which were unattainable before.

Whatever you decide, research, research, research! Some online schools are great - and some are a joke.  Make sure you look for review sites and dig into what the school offers and how you are graded.  Also, make sure they are accredited!

Good luck with whatever you choose - and don't give up!

Tina

All very valid points! It is so subject to how one would react to an online degree vs. a traditional one. One can not predict how another person will react to someone's education vs. someone else's during a selection process. So many other factors are being looked at that if one had enough experience the place where the degree came from I would think would not matter so much.

I'm thinking of getting my Phd. through capella.edu so I can continue to work while earning my degree. The only drawback I've found is that if I wanted to teach at a university I may get some adverse reactions from faculty who went through a tradtional brick and mortar school.

Personally, if someone can show me they have the knowledge and can apply it I do not see why it matters where the degree was earned. Everyone is an individual, and should be treated as such. I would guess there would be no difference in job performance between someone who earned an online degree vs. traditional universities.

I also agree that with the raising costs of tuition, and the hassle of relocating to a college town that offers what you want, that online schools will continue to grow. Also, the fact many of us can not afford not to work while earning a degree.

I myself am truly eyeballing capella.edu, and think I'm going to go for it this January, but who knows I may change my mind again.

i would say don't waste your money but if u don't have a high school diploma shoot for it.

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I just received my associates degree from Axia on-line and now going for my bachlors degree online as well.  If I could not complete my classes online I do not think I would have gone back to school because of my schedule.  I also have found many employeer do not care where the degree is from just as long has an applicant has one. I have found it much harder taking the classes online then if I was sitting in a classroom, but there is still a large amount of interaction with students via a chat room.

If i see online proposals, i don't go randomly or blindly but step by step. I check all the details possible for that step. I would check whether that is beneficial for me or not & then legal terms