Employers No Longer Shun Online Grads

The prospect of promotion and a bigger paycheck is fuelling the fast growing popularity of distance learning and online degrees. Online learning is especially attractive because it offers flexible scheduling that allows online students to earn a degree without leaving the comfort of their home. But do employers share the enthusiasm of students for the online degree path?

While employers may have once answered this question with considerable skepticism, it now seems the online phenomenon is finding much wider acceptance. Distance learning is becoming so popular that employers unwilling to accept qualified online graduates may soon find themselves on the outside looking in. More than half of the country's colleges and universities now offer online course and degree programs, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Estimates by the NCES for 2006 put the number of online degree seekers as high as 6 million students. The University of Phoenix Online, the nation's leading online university, counted more than 115,000 students on its rolls in late 2004, the last period for which figures are available.

Given the popularity of distance learning and online degree programs, it's hard to see how employers can ignore online degree holders in their search for new employees. However, all degrees are not created equal according to an oft-cited study by the online career information website, Vault.com. Degrees requiring actual physical attendance at traditional brick-and-mortar universities were still preferred over online institutions by a substantial margin. An online diploma bearing the name of a well-known Ivy League or Big Ten school may well carry more weight than a degree from purely "virtual" institution in the eyes of some human resource professionals.

Fortunately, name recognition and on-campus attendance isn't the whole story. Online universities have commissioned more recent studies that show job applicants with an online degree from an accredited online university now have a more level playing field when competing for jobs. Accreditation, a voluntary process in which colleges and universities are reviewed by a regional accrediting agency, seems to underlie the change in attitude. Accreditation means that an online college or university fulfills uniform standards that apply equally to both traditional on-campus centers of learning as well as online institutions. A database of accredited colleges and universities is available from the U.S. Secretary of Education at www.ed.gov.

For many employers, the issue of an online degree isn't an issue at all. This is especially true when an existing employee wants to improve his or her level of education while continuing to work full time. In a situation like this, many employers are eager to help existing employees become a better-educated and hence more valuable employee. At the University of Phoenix Online, for example, fifty-nine percent of students receive all or part of their online tuition from their employer.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, online learning is expected to grow faster than any other part of the education landscape in the years ahead. As long as an online degree comes from a properly accredited college or university, graduates can expect their degrees to meet with increasing acceptance by employers.