Are Online College Degrees Worth It?
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios


Defined Tag: Online College Degrees.

Online college degrees have been around for well over a decade. While there is no doubt that the diploma mills of old are very active on the Internet today, the fact is there are plenty of excellent and accredited programs online. But what do employers think of online college degrees? Here are some of the more common opinions about the value of online college degrees, and which ones tend to receive a wider amount of recognition.

Early on, there was a great deal of doubt about the veracity of online college degrees. Critics stated there was no way to adequately replicate the experience of the classroom, complete with real time interaction with a professor. While it is true the first efforts at online college degrees and the classes required to earn the degrees were simplistic, the process quickly matured. Prepared lectures that are accompanied by instant messaging allow the students to submit questions to the professor, who can answer them in the class or respond privately to the student later. Chat rooms allow the students to interact with one another, and exams are timed. Assignments are sent to the professor via email, which also saves a lot of time. In short, the online experience today is very close to the live class experience, and one that some tend to prefer.

Some employers have the impression that online college degrees are not as comprehensive as traditional degrees. Often, the same texts and course outlines are used with both types of programs, so there is no difference in the materials used. Instructors of online courses also usually teach in a live setting as well, so there is no question of the competency of the instruction. Usually, investigation into the requirements established by the university for the online program is enough to convince employers that the degrees are indeed worthy. In any case, the expanding popularity of online college degrees will no doubt make the issue a moot point in another decade, as more and more graduates opt for online learning programs.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.