Is distance learning degree accepted by employers?

[Algernon]

I have many queries before i decide if to get my degree online. How do employers view distance learning degrees? Can I get a job with it?

[Epiphany]

That's a loaded question.

I would say for the most part yes, it's accepted. Sometimes it's not. Depends on who is looking at your resume or interviewing you, maybe they have a preconceived notion of it's worth that you can't change. I would certainly be ready to answer the question "why did you get this degree from xx school?".

After looking at the pros and cons, I thought an Excelsior or TESC degree followed by a local RA Masters or MBA was the way to go. After I'm done that (spring 2011?) I don't think I'll have to worry about where I did my undergrad.

[motuterry]

I have found most larger employers value continuing education and understand the advantages of distance learning. Some will even assist with the costs. I have no concerns about earning my degree from a non-traditional school.

The world is changing and successful employers are changing with it. In the past, any degree from Alcohol U would land you the job. That's just not the case any longer. It's all about skills and what you have to offer.

[Katterina]

I think it will completely depend on the person reading the resume and their experience (or lack of experience) with distance learning. My father in law was in senior management at a Fortune 100 company until he retired. He thought that all online degrees were scams - until my previous Fortune 100 company paid for my tuition. After that, the US government recognized my degree and started me with a higher salary for it. Now he has nothing but good things to say about accredited online degrees.

[ShotoJuku]

[COLOR="Navy"]Don't ask, don't tell......just apply!

A degree is a degree, so long as it comes from an accredited school, and one should never hesitate to include it on their resume.

Remember, you earned it now let it earn for you![/COLOR]

[lovetheduns]

My employer will pay for any college course (part of a bachelors or a masters program --assuming you do not have the degree) that is relevant to our business. The only requirements is that you make above a C and the school is regionally accredited. They do not care if it is online or not. Our tuition reimbursement administrator (we outsource that function) WILL check to make sure it is accredited and it is a real school. So it has to be RA.

As for jobs and employment. My employer quite honestly is more concerned at what you bring to the table. True maybe in some of our fund management roles maybe they care if you came from Harvard or an Ivy but for the most part an MBA is not going to all of a sudden make you revered from someone who has a bachelors. The best VP I have had at the company told me she did not complete her bachelors until she was 40+. My manager who is an amazing leader only holds a bachelors. A sudden Masters (whether it is online or from Harvard) is not going to make them swoon and give you a higher role or promotion. Our company will pay for it up to 10.5k a year (more if you get it approved through your leadership and sign a contract for law degrees, executive MBAs, etc) as long as you are making above a C. 10.5 covers ONLY tuition. But I like how they just immediately pay you the bill and do not debate about whether that particular class should be paid for or not as my last employer did.

I DID notice in a new management development program across the company they are looking at people who masters or are attempting to complete master programs. The development program pretty much puts you at a sr. management role when you finish it, but the master's program is not REALLY a sticking point per information from my leadership.. i.e. people have been chosen based solely on their leaderships skills even if they did not have a masters-- you HAD to have a bachelors though. A Masters may help you get to the interview in other words, but it will not guarantee you receiving the job over another who only has a bachelors.

My employer is even pretty flexible at letting you work remotely or take time off of work for residency requirements depending on how long they are for programs.

NOW--- granted for myself I made the decision to not get a 100% online degree. My local college is respected and known in my area. It is small, and I didn't want it to stand out by so much that I had taken the degree through a combination of remote and local. The bulk of th 57 hours I took at the school were sitting in a classroom versus online. I would say the bulk of my credit hours I received were done in a traditional setting.

For me, I personally wanted to graduate from a school that was in my state and relatively local (my college has a satellite campus in the same neighborhood as my job their true campus is about 1.5 hour away). I thought this would not be so "stand out" as having a bachelors earned from a completely different state. It would be very obvious due to the jobs on my resume. I thought it would be less questions and less unfamiliarity during an interview. Now this was also at the time I was considering sitting for the CPA exam so that also had a lot to do with it.

As for my master's I do not care, but I still took great precaution in choosing traditional universities to complete this work. I even chose UMBC over UMUC due to it being more selective for the program I was interested in pursuing. I am taking a third class this January at the Harvard Extension School to also round out the more technical program at UMBC. I figure it will take me about 1.5 years to even get accepted into the Masters of Liberal Arts in Management at the Extension School (assuming I survive and make over Bs in the first 3 courses). Personally the name of Harvard is less important than the ability to have access to that stellar education and opportunity to learn from some of those HBS professors whom I would not have had the opportunity to learn from in a classroom setting. Also with my current company, relocating to the Boston area would not be that big of a deal should I continue in that program when it comes time to take 6 courses locally in Cambridge.

BUT not to just ramble-- my point in choosing UMBC and even the tentative Harvard Extension School (most people never complete the Masters programs), it is because I know my next employer may not be so certain of online learning-- at least these two schools are legitimate and offer excellent programs respectively which can not be denied or confused with unknown or little known mostly online programs. Basically like it or not, I wanted schools that all had a mascot-- i.e a physical community presence and that were not 100% known to be a distance learning educational college. My main reason for that was so that to a prospective employer I would not encounter the bigots who do exist and decry online learning and other non traditional methods.

Whew-- I shouldn't post while destressing with a glass of wine.

[DDavis62]

All previous posts are very true.

I would like to add something else, the intangibles.

If you where in the HR department conducting hiring at a company which person would you hire in the following scenario?

"Traditional student" attended in residence, sat in the classes, completed their assignments, worked on group projects, and conducted presentations just as most people have done in an institution of higher learning for the past 50 years.

"Online/Distance student" had to communicate in the cyber world, participated in online discussions often gettting in arguments on heated topics and having to resolve differences in written form, completed their assignments electronically, managed their time without a set schedule, worked on group projects over great distance having to manage a group of people in different geographical areas, and conducted presentations in cyberspace.

There are certain skills gained from an online education that are not typically obtained from a B&M school. I am sure most people here have a story on how some "weekly discussion" got heated (abortion/politics anyone) and everyone had to express their opinions in a factual non-emotional manner to suceed.

Many organizations today deal extensively through email or other electronic communication. I believe a person who has had exposure to online education brings a new dimension to the work force. I have seen it when having to collaborate on projects and just plan get things done when not in the same room.

There is something to be said for sitting in a class and discussing your points orally but as I have seen there are many more people lacking cyber working skills.

[brothermike]

Thanks for the excellent feedback everyone. I too have been wondering how employers will look at online degrees. Your posts have helped answer some of the questions in my mind.

[Gary]

Don't forget the all important "Who you know"! Once you have the paper, who you know can take you a long ways. They can remove obstacles like magic regardless of where the paper is from and don't kid yourself about that.