Getting a Traditional vs. Online Degree

¶ … Online vs. traditional degrees [...] difference between getting a traditional (attending class) education vs. online/distance degree. Since the advent of the Internet, increasing numbers of students of all ages are utilizing online courses as part of their higher education experience. Today, getting a degree totally though online coursework is becoming more and more popular, but what are the negatives of obtaining an online degree vs. A traditional in-class degree? Many experts believe an online degree is simply not as effective as a traditional degree.

Online education has been making major strides in education around the world since the mid-1990s. Students from high school to graduate school utilize online courses to augment their schoolwork, but online courses are especially popular with older students, who find they fit in to their hectic schedule more effectively. One survey found over 6000 online courses offered in the year 2000 (Long and Javidi). While many more schools are jumping on the distance education bandwagon, the question remains, how effective is distance education vs. traditional in-class education? Many educators believe there are many positive outcomes from distance education, as one expert notes, "Contrary to intuition, current Web-based online college courses are not an alienating, mass-produced product. They are a labor-intensive, highly text-based, intellectually challenging forum which elicits deeper thinking on the part of the students and which presents, for better or worse, more equality between instructor and student" (Smith, Ferguson, and Caris 18). However, much of the business community is still quite hesitant to recognize online education as a viable alternative to the traditional degree process.

When questioned, many hiring authorities in the business community feel strongly about the differences between an online and traditional degree. Several surveys have been conducted in the human resource community, and usually, online degrees do not hold as much credibility in the workplace as traditional degrees.

Among the 239 human-resources professionals and recruiters surveyed, only 30% report having encountered applicants with online degrees. Yet only 26% say an online bachelor's degree is as credible as a traditional bachelor's degree. About two-thirds -- 61% -- say an online bachelor's degree isn't as credible but is still acceptable, while the remaining 13% say online bachelor's degrees aren't credible or acceptable (Vogt).

In addition, a proportionate number do not recognize graduate online degrees with as much enthusiasm as traditional degrees. Thus, the online degree may be more convenient and appealing to many students, but it may not stand the test in the hiring process. The applicant with an online degree may be hired, but in the case of two equal candidates, one with an online degree, and one with a traditional degree, most hiring authorities say they will hire the traditional candidate over the online candidate (Vogt). Like it or not, many employers do not understand the complexities of online education, and they view the degrees as somehow lesser than those earned in the classroom. Many educators feel differently about the viability of online courses and degrees.

Two educators conducted a study of two exact same communications courses, one offered online, the other in a traditional classroom, and found the differences in learning to be negligible. Online students scored an average of 81% on their tests, while traditional students scored an average of 83%. Thus, they reasoned, "Consequently, the assertion of similar outcomes may be true when a typical distance learner is compared to a typical full-time student in a traditional classroom" (Long and Javidi). Other studies seem to concur with these results.

As online education has proliferated, so have the studies regarding its' effectiveness. More and more studies show that online education is just as effective as traditional class work, if certain methodologies are used in online instruction. Most experts agree that for online education to be meaningful, there must be "student-to-student interaction, and when there is well-timed student-to-teacher feedback" (Editors). In fact, in another study, the distance education students scored higher on tests (85.92 vs. 78.26) and research papers (91.39 vs. 87.45), completed more homework assignments (85.22 vs. 78.55), and outperformed the traditional students in almost every area of the study (Editors). These studies continually show that online education is just as effective in teaching as traditional classes, but that does not mean online education is right for every student.