Overcoming the Stigma of Online Degrees
Posted by jstoppi on July 17th, 2008
The stigma of obtaining an online degree may dissuade some who might have otherwise benefited from furthering their educational horizons. Unfortunately, the inception of online degree programs was muddled by unscrupulous diploma mills that would confer a degree to anyone who was willing to pay the money (without doing any real academic work). These diploma mills tarnished the future of online degrees.
There are several qualities of online universities that forecast a legit, quality program. These are:
- Accreditation
- The same degree or program offered in the traditional sense
- Financial Aid
If the university offers the same program in the traditional sense, once a student graduates, he/she does not need to indicate they received the degree via the online format (although what I’ve observed personally is that, after going through all the hard work of obtaining an online degree, most graduates are proud enough to tell anyone they received the degree online).
I too was affected by the stigma of online degrees. I attended a large university that offered the same program in the traditional sense. I was still a bit skeptical after I graduated until I met someone who attended the same university for the same degree, on campus. I was satisfied when I compared his degree to mine (they were identical). I was more satisfied when we compared knowledge as I felt I knew just as much–if not more than–he did.
In the near future, there is no doubt that there will be no stigma surrounding online degrees. Indeed, I envision a future where more degrees are offered online than not. In the meantime, I hope this information helps you overcome the stigma of online degrees so you can attain your educational and career dreams!
Tags: accredidation, diploma mills, online degrees, online schools
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 8:25 am and is filed under Online Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
