Online Degrees Get Lukewarm Reception from Business
Categories: College Prep, Extraordinary Teens, Ready Out of the Box
Written By: Kim Anderson
The jury is still out on how well received creatively structured college degrees will be in the future business climate. Many homeschoolers opt to have their students work on some kind of online or distance degree program while they are still in high school or as an alternative to college after graduation. While it is smart to use those later high school years to give your student a leg up to a college degree or even to rack up professional certifications in the fields that interest them, taking a degree totally online is still a risk from the perspective of validating achievement to a prospective employer or customer.
According to Dawn Boyer, director of marketing, sales and public relations for government contracts and human resources director for MonsterClean Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning, the keys to business acceptance of an online degree are:
1) Are the exams given in a proctored setting or totally online without standards?
“if the degree is high level and testing is done at proctoring centers or within a cooperative (nearby) universities, where the students must report to a controlled testing room or site, then the college/university degree is valid and there should be no question to it’s credentials.” (read Ms Boyer’s full article here: http://www.linkedin.com/answers/career-education/education-schools/CAR_BUE/474896-44930680 )
2) Is the degree-granting college accredited?
Note that Ms Boyer handles government contracts for a private company. She reports that some employers don’t check the validity of degrees reported on prospective employees’ resumes. However, government contracts are very specific about which jobs must be performed by a degreed employee – even if that job is being handled by a private contractor. The status of the entire contract could be jeopardized by one employee who is not properly credentialed, so her company does check up on the degree and the university awarding it.
In a climate of increasing government control of businesses across the spectrum of the economy, it makes sense to check with any online degree program you are considering to see if it measures up to these guidelines.
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June 28th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I agree that the college needs to be accredited, and people need to check to make sure it is accredited, but many online colleges are accredited. Also many familes are opting to obtain college credit though CLEP exams, which is totally proctored by a college or university and is a very credible resource ( go to http://www.collegeboard.com) I think it is wrong to assume that most online degrees are not accredited or credible and that employers do not accept the degree. I have assisted many homeschoolers in obtaining their degree online in order to accelerate the time and lessen the cost of a degree. It works and many of these same students are accepted at prestigious graduate schools and are employed by government agencies. Maybe both sides should be reviewed.
June 28th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Good point about the CLEP exams! And yes, there are good online degrees and bad ones. I hate to see homeschoolers duped into wasting their time and effort on a bad one when good ones are available. I hope that this article gives people the tools to evaluate the programs that are out there, and gives them an understanding of what businesses are looking for when they vet a degree.
In fact, I’m shopping for some online options for my son. I’d be glad to learn more about what you offer.