Online Education And Degrees
Over the past decade, online education has reached greater acceptance and favor from students who cannot attend full-time university but still want to earn a degree in their area of interest.
Due to advances in education online technology platforms, faster online speeds, and broader bandwidth, classroom learning is quickly becoming the great equalizer to the more traditional onsite university setting. Since the pandemic, remote learning has only increased in acceptance.
The shift from personal onsite classrooms to remote and virtual learning has made online learning much more relevant.
Perceptions of Online Degrees
Just as employees are changing the rules on the employer acceptance work from home arrangements, employers are also accepting online education degrees.
Gone are the days when employers automatically disapprove of online degrees or distance learning in their hiring practices. This attitude has changed after the covid lockdown years.
As remote work has dramatically increased in 2022, so has remote learning and access to digital education. Your school’s reputation and the degree you earned are much more relevant to employers than whether you earned your degree on campus or online. It’s still the name of the school and its reputation that matters.
In an article published by Harvard Business Review, entitled, Pandemic Pushed Universities Online – The Change Was Long Overdue. The article details the explosive and highly beneficial trend of online education and credentialing of their students.
They write:
This trend is being driven by employers and industry certification programs, working in partnership with community colleges, extension schools, and university graduate programs — and is central to the “unbundling” of degrees into micro-credentials that can stack into a larger lifelong curriculum.
Accredited online colleges preferred
There is little question that an online college accredited by the U.S. Department of Education and/or the Council on Higher Education will work in your favor. Yet online schools that are regionally accredited, as opposed to nationally accredited, tend to have a better reputation in local markets.
The chances of your potential employer being familiar with a regional online college is higher and, therefore, likely to be more recognized and credible.
Mastering Skills Independently
In some ways, working while learning to improve your skills online at home can demonstrate:
- Ability to learn independently,
- Strong time-management skills,
- Self-motivated
- Collaborate online
- Strong technology skills
- Strong communication skills
Diploma mills
While there have been great strides in the quality of online learning. There is still a small groups of what are called diploma mills. These organizations essentially sell college transcripts and diplomas to anyone willing to pay for them.
Many diploma mills have impressive websites, but that’s where the comparison ends. Their so-called fast-track online degree programs are pure fiction. Look deeper, and you will find that diploma mills lack any form of legitimate accreditation.
Real online colleges are accredited by agencies like the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education.
If you remain suspicious, there is a good chance that you are dealing with a mill.
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