One of the greatest myths is that an online degree is worth much less than that of an on ground equivalent and the credits are not transferable. Nothing on the transcript should read that the degree was or was not acquired online, nor should there be anything on the diploma.

To suggest that the acquisition of a degree online is less than one acquired by study in a classroom is to suggest prejudice of the worst kind. The fact that most of this comes from disgruntled academics who see tenure and their classrooms going the way of the dodo bird is neither astounding nor surprising. Traditional classroom teachers have long been in denial over online education.

If the branch of the university one attends has an online education division and it broadcasts to the world that the degree is online by plastering it on the transcript and the diploma, this is not a school one should wish to attend. This is an example of a college or university controlled by a faculty of purists and certainly not one any serious student of higher education would want to be a part. Don’t worry; with this kind of attitude, they won’t be around very much longer.

In the world of higher education, it is no longer an embarrassment to acquire a degree online or for that matter to be apologetic. In fact, it is a pretty trendy thing to do these days because, if anything, it really does diversify the learning experience and opens incredible options that just a few short years ago were non-existent. Fellow online classmates can be from anywhere in the world and contacts through the advent of social networking have made a remarkable breakthrough in bringing individuals and scholars together that otherwise might never have been able to meet or network.

The icing on the cake remains the instructor. S/he just might be the best in the world in the course subject, something normally not available at your local ‘brick and mortar’.
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This Article has appeared in over 3000 publications and translated into many languages since first being published in 2004.

Author: Dr. Fred DiUlus, Volunteer Director, CEFE.