Online degrees.

[whereismynotecard]

So my mom wants to get a degree, and she's thinking of taking online courses, so my younger sister won't be home all alone all the time, and because it's cheaper than on-campus university. Also, her high school grades weren't very good and she doesn't think my university will let her in.

So how about it? Do you guys know anyone, or are any of you people who have gotten a degree online? Is it the same as a non-online degree? Or do potential employers frown upon it? She is asking me about it, but I really don't know, because I barely know what I am doing, much less what she is doing... I wonder if online courses are a good idea or not... I'd like to give my mom some good advice. I don't want her to waste money on the courses if they aren't as good as on-campus courses, but I do want her to get a degree so she'll have money later when the checks stop coming.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I have heard personally that employers frown on it.

It depends on what her goals are.

I have heard from a prominent dean of a university that these online schools have class action lawsuits because their graduates can't find jobs.

 

[Madhuri]

Why not find a university that offers distance education? I am doing a significant part of my degree by distance, which means I still have to send my assignments in a do the exams on campus (or if you live too far away then there will be a special centre). The course work is exactly the same as the on campus students and often there are online lectures or recordings from class. This is different from those 'online degrees' but definitely more reliable/legit.

 

[freethinker44]

I don't know about a strictly online college but I take online classes from a university. I don't know why people frown on it, probably because it is different from tradition, but imo, online classes are harder than on campus classes. I have taken both, and with the online classes they pretty much give you the work and say figure it out, and the campus classes there is other students and an instructor to talk with if you don't fully understand something.

This is from an accredited university though, I don't know about the classes offered from online colleges.

 

[zenzero]

Friend wimnc,

Agree with friend Madhuri that there are many recognized universities which offer distance education which are treated a little below par by employers.
Personally would suggest a technical education which is practical oriented maybe like beautician's course where one can even start a beauty parlor at home. It has to be some thing which your mom has natural talent for or interests simply because jobs never gives one a freedom and depends on the job market etc.
Best Wishes to your mom.
Love & rgds

 

[whereismynotecard]

Okie dokie. Thank you for the tips. I'll inform my mom of what you guys have to say.

I don't know about a strictly online college but I take online classes from a university. I don't know why people frown on it, probably because it is different from tradition, but imo, online classes are harder than on campus classes. I have taken both, and with the online classes they pretty much give you the work and say figure it out, and the campus classes there is other students and an instructor to talk with if you don't fully understand something.

This is from an accredited university though, I don't know about the classes offered from online colleges.

I'd have to agree. I haven't taken an online course, but I have taken online exams, and I didn't like even doing that. I prefer to be right there with the professor and other students for my classes, so if I have a question, I can ask instead of sending an e-mail and waiting for response...

 

[Valjean]

How would an employee even know if a university degree were earned on or off campus?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

How would an employee even know if a university degree were earned on or off campus?

a. If you told them.

b. It's on the transcript.

c. It's from a college that the employer has never heard of and they investigate.

 

[Panda]

I'd look for a distance learning instead of purely online.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

So how about it? Do you guys know anyone, or are any of you people who have gotten a degree online? Is it the same as a non-online degree? Or do potential employers frown upon it?

I think potential employers would probably frown on any online-only (or predominantly online a la the University of Phoenix) university's degree. Whether they'd have the same feelings about an online course through an established, traditional university probably depends on the reputation of the school.

One of my friends started his degree the old-fashioned way and is finishing up (the last year's worth of courses, effectively) at the same school through a combination of online courses and ones that are split online/classroom - IIRC, for some of his courses, he has some lessons and assignments online, but goes to the campus either every week or two weeks for some sort of lecture or seminar.

a. If you told them.

b. It's on the transcript.

c. It's from a college that the employer has never heard of and they investigate.

I'm not sure that (b) is correct in all circumstances. My alma mater has traditional classroom courses and (for certain programs and courses) the option of online courses as well. I'm pretty sure that the transcript doesn't explicitly state "ONLINE" or "CLASSROOM" for each course, so I think the only way someone would be able to tell is if they checked the course code against the school's academic calendar course-by-course.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I'm not sure that (b) is correct in all circumstances. My alma mater has traditional classroom courses and (for certain programs and courses) the option of online courses as well. I'm pretty sure that the transcript doesn't explicitly state "ONLINE" or "CLASSROOM" for each course, so I think the only way someone would be able to tell is if they checked the course code against the school's academic calendar course-by-course.

Yeah, I meant to say "if."

Some online courses will have a designation in the prefix of the course.

Example:

HIST 5501-WEB

I think that the institution itself is more important than whether the courses are online or not. If it's a course from a recognizable accredited university then I wouldn't worry a bit.

 

[whereismynotecard]

I told my mom what you guys said. I don't want her to waste money on a degree that employers won't take seriously. I told her she should apply to my university. I don't know if they'd let her in or not...

Here's another question:

If you got C's And D's in high school, (that is on an A, B, C, D, F, scale, A being the best, D being the lowest passing grade) but you graduated 20 years ago, does the university really care about your high school grades? I mean, she never tried in high school, because no one ever talked to her about university... and even if she got all A's, it was 20 years ago and she probably wouldn't remember most of the stuff anymore anyway...

There's a fee to apply to my university, so I don't want her to waste money applying if there's no way she'd get in, but I think she can get lots of grants for being poor and being a widow mother. It probably wouldn't cost her much, if anything if she gets as many grants as my sister and I do. My sister and I actually get money back from the university...

 

[Madhuri]

I can only speak from experience in my country but generally you can get into university as a mature age student where you high school grades don't count. You generally have to do an easy test first so that they know you are capable (like reading and writing). But I'm not sure if that is the same in your country.

 

[whereismynotecard]

That would be pretty cool. I'll tell my mom to look into it.

 

[Valjean]

I usually just sign up for a class or two. You don't have to be admitted to a study program to take university classes.
I can see a couple of advantages to this approach, in your mom's case. First, she can test the waters with one or two classes and get a feel for what her academic capabilities really are.
Second, should she choose to apply full time, she'd already have a track record with the university.

 

[whereismynotecard]

Thank you, Seyorni. I'll suggest it.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Online degrees are really not worth it. Most employers, especially for professional careers, frown upon them. University of Phoenix fell under heavy criticism, because their online degrees are pretty much worthless. And, the people that run them are idiots. I have told one online college that they do not offer the program I am wanting to go for many times, and yet they still keep calling me. Another online college, I lied about my high school grades, what diploma I received, and even my SAT scores, and they still accepted me.
It's much better to take distance learning courses from a real college, or hybrid classes, which are part online, and part in-class. However, since you don't actually go to school, they do require even more discipline than all in-class courses do.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

If you got C's And D's in high school, (that is on an A, B, C, D, F, scale, A being the best, D being the lowest passing grade) but you graduated 20 years ago, does the university really care about your high school grades?

Depends on the university... most I think have different entry requirements for older folks and international students.

 

[Mathematician]

Depends on the university... most I think have different entry requirements for older folks and international students.

Yeah. If she has her heart set on going to one of the more prestigious state universities and pumping up her career opportunities, she could also attend a community college to garnish A's and B's. That transfer work would stand before her high school material and would also be much cheaper.

 

[jobservices]

I think potential employers would probably frown on any online-only university's degree.

Thanks for wonderful discussion