Are Online Degree Accepted by Employers?

Online degrees are pursued by working adults with the prospects of career development. As an online degree from the best online colleges in California would add value to the resume. After gaining a degree from one such online college, when interviewing for jobs, the candidates are usually not questioned on whether their degree is from online education or traditional on-campus education. The hiring managers mostly focus on the overall academic performances and majors. This indifference maybe because of the increase in the number of students who are graduating from the best online colleges in Ohio with an online degree. But this hasn’t always been the case because only a few years ago, many hiring professionals, human resource managers and executives have been skeptical of graduates with online degrees.

Skepticism towards online degrees is due to the stereotype of online education being a diploma mill. And many online degrees and colleges do not hold accreditation. It is believed that these institutes have made giving away degrees like a business. But these mindsets are slowly changing with more online students graduating and making a mark in their careers. Over a decade ago, online graduates would be questioned more about their online degree which is unlikely nowadays.

Today, if there is a choice to be made between a candidate with a degree from traditional on-campus education and a candidate with an online degree, the hiring managers may be favourable to the candidate with an online degree. The reason behind this is that the online student has shown commitment to online education as there are no anchoring ties with online education like traditional education. But it also is an evidence of the candidates’ ability to juggle online education and other commitments. The reputation of online education is also influenced by the online courses and degree that are being provided by top reputed institutes like MIT, Berklee, NYU etc. The key factor that made online education is massive open online courses, known as MOOCs. In spite of the evolution and acceptance of online education few employers are still skeptical of online education and the online degrees.

According to Mary Massad, president of a recruiting firm, whose 75% of clients accept candidates from online colleges with online degrees whereas 25% of their clients have not accepted the online education like the others. The reason behind this is that the mindset of these clients is very traditional and resistant when it comes to online education. Even though this is only a percentage of the employers, the main factor online aspirants should be looking into is the institutional and program accreditation and making sure the program you are looking to enroll in holds appropriate accreditation. Otherwise, make sure the program has brand recognition. But also, the person’s academic performance and work experience plays an important role, so it should not be a problem with most employers.

Especially, when it comes online degrees which are aimed at a particular skill like Nursing, Music etc., hiring managers question the quality and effectiveness of the coursework compared to traditional education. Skilled online degrees are far more challenging and different than any other online degree. When it comes to such degrees, there is a lot to be learnt from the practical knowledge which has laboratories part of the curriculum of the traditional degrees. But this is not facilitated in programs that are a 100% online. These practical concepts are modelled into some visual representations like a video or a PowerPoint presentation. Even though these visuals help in understanding the concepts, they miss out the on the effectiveness. The solution to this can be hybrid programs. Hybrid programs are online programs who require students to visit the campus for a portion of the curriculum. This balances out the need for students to have a direct interaction when it comes to practical concepts. Hybrid programs are mostly online and are the happy middle which is interactive with the faculty yet self-paced like the online programs.

These online skilled programs are usually taken up by students who already have a nursing licenses which makes understanding these concepts easier with 100% online nursing programs. These persons are equipped with a foundation clinical experience. There is no need for employers and aspirants to worry with the knowledge gained and career opportunities like placements.


This article is sponsored by The College Monk

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