Online College Degrees – Does It Have the Credibility of a Regular University Degree?

There are many professionals who wish for that additional degree in their resume that could get them the promotion that they aspire for. There are many people who discontinued their studies to start on a job and who want to continue their studies, now that they have settled down. There are students who want to get an extra qualification along with their regular studies that will increase their prospects in the job market. Online college degrees are meant for these people. Further, those who live in far off places and who are unable to attend college also benefit from online college degrees.

With an increase in the number of people who are looking for an additional degree, there has been an increase in the number of universities providing online programs. Even Ivy League colleges have started offering degrees online.

Universities provide online degrees on a variety of subjects like engineering, arts, basic sciences, behavioral sciences, literature, business administration, accounting, law, information technology etc.

People are apprehensive about the credibility of the degrees online offered by various universities. Usually, the educational institutions have to be accredited by certain organizations that are dedicated to educational excellence. The degrees offered by institutions without accreditation are not respected by employers and other institutions. Same is the case with online college degrees offered by various universities.

The course and study materials of online programs offered by universities are mostly prepared by or prepared under the assistance of the lecturers and professors who teach in the regular colleges under them. The subjects and syllabus are also the same as that of regular colleges. But these courses offer little in molding a person’s character. People who are afraid of speaking in front of groups generally prefer the online degrees. They won’t be able to put into use the knowledge they earned and they will not be good in building interpersonal relations. This may be the reason why employers still have some inhibitions against the online degrees from universities.

These inhibitions are slowly disappearing as more prestigious and recognized universities have started online college degree programs. Many organizations are encouraging their employees to get additional qualifications through online programs offered by good universities as employees with additional qualifications are always an asset to an organization. Some companies even pay for their staff to attend college during work hours to increase the over all education capacity of their team. Some companies also provide this as a perk to retain dedicated staff.