Perception of Online Degrees

How do employers view degrees from online universities?

Does learning via multimedia presentations, streamed video lectures, MP3 files and the Web solidify your job candidacy? How much “street cred” does an online degree have?

More than ever, say today's employers, and detractors are increasingly mum as online education becomes more and more mainstream: the well-known online college University of Phoenix is among the largest colleges in the United States by enrollment. Employers have done the math, and it’s a “win-win” proposition: Distance-learning students learn relevant, valuable skills which they plough back to the workplace.

Online education is also recognized for its ability to keep job skills fresh. In theory you can party like it's 1999, but you can't work like it's 1999. By upgrading managerial, technical or even basic remedial skills, online education is an increasingly attractive investment for competitive employers. For example, an online course can train student-employees to use corporate computer systems via simulations. While mimicking a real-world software environment, this reduces error risk to nil or few. Because of these direct benefits, many mid-sized or large employers will reimburse tuition, and some even foot the bill directly via Third Party Billing.