| In this article I will cover a very important concern | | | | To authenticate this, listen to what a spokesman for |
| that has been raised by those who are doing or | | | | the University of Chicago's Graduate School of |
| interested in doing an online degree. | | | | Business said- "Someone with an undergraduate |
| The question I have always heard asked is- | | | | degree from an online program would be treated the |
| "Will one be at a disadvantage when the time comes | | | | same as other applicants... Online degrees are not |
| for applying for a graduate program or job... after | | | | seen as a 'flag' on someone's application. |
| one has he completed his or her online degree | | | | This goes to show you that you should have no fear |
| program?" | | | | about the acceptance of your online degree... if you |
| It will not be enough to just say YES or NO. In this | | | | got it from an accredited online university or college. |
| article I will go deeper and tell you what you need to | | | | In short, no one will know whether you got the |
| know regarding whether or not your online degree | | | | online degree from an online university or from an |
| will be accepted. To give more credence to my | | | | offline university. |
| answer, I will use real-life statistics to support it. | | | | Even employers have no problem with online |
| In a recent article I read that: | | | | degrees, so far as they are gotten from accredited |
| John Bear, co-author of "The Bear's Guide to Earning | | | | online colleges and universities. In a recent article, I |
| Degrees by Distance Learning," surveyed 1,200 | | | | discovered that Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart Stores |
| randomly selected registrars across the country to | | | | and Intel Corp. all indicated that they would accept |
| help answer part of this question. (He picked them all | | | | online degrees... so long as they were from |
| from the American Association of Collegiate | | | | accredited institutions! |
| Registrars and Admissions Officers member list.) Of | | | | Going further the article said, "Wal-Mart also indicated |
| the 330 useful replies, 92% accepted online-only | | | | that it uses online learning for in-house training. Intel, |
| degrees (compared with 100% acceptance for | | | | in fact, has partnered with Babson College in |
| traditional 4-year offline degrees). | | | | Wellesley, Mass., to offer an online MBA program |
| Of the 8% who indicated they may not accept online | | | | tailored just to Intel employees". |
| degrees, most said they'd review the online program | | | | So, you should have absolutely no fear about |
| on a case-by-case basis. "Almost no one said they | | | | whether your online degree will be accepted by |
| absolutely wouldn't accept them," Bear says. | | | | employers or by other educational institutions. |
| Most importantly, many of the online colleges or | | | | It will be accepted so long as you got it from |
| universities offering online degrees do not state on | | | | accredited online universities and colleges. |
| the degrees or transcripts whether it is an online | | | | But note that it is not enough for the university or |
| degree or offline degree. In other words, they do | | | | college to be accredited. You also need to carefully |
| not 'distinguish' between the degrees earned online | | | | check and verify that the accrediting agency is |
| and those earned offline. To them, all the degrees | | | | recognized by either the U.S. Dept of Education or |
| are the same! | | | | Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). |