Should Recruiters Take Online Degrees Seriously

Should Recruiters Take Online Degrees Seriously Should Recruiters Take Online Degrees Seriously This presents a new issue for employers as with anything new, there can be fear and uncertainty, and online degrees have certainly suffered from a perception issue. Studies show that many employers frown on online degrees as there are concerns they lack muskelsteifheit and face-to-face interactions and that there is more scope for academic dishonesty. Online degrees also have an unenviable association with diploma mills, i.e. disreputable institutions that provide fake degrees.So ,with the subject of online degrees now banging at the doors of recruiters, its time to ask the question, Should employers take online degrees seriously? Heres my viewOne of the first big issues to address is whether the quality of online degrees matches that of traditional degrees. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Education, which looked at 99 research studies between 1996 and 2008, classes with online learning, (whether totally online or blended), on average produced stronger learning outcomes than classes with just face-to-face instruction. So, according to academic research, online degrees are, at the very least, as effective a teaching tool as classroom-led learning and arguably more effective.So now we know that online degrees are good quality, how can we be sure that the degree that we are looking at is of good quality and notlage from a diploma mill giving out fake degrees? This is a very easy one to resolve. The U.S. Government has tackled the issue of diploma mills, and now employers can check the authenticity of any online institution by contacting their states Better Business Bureau or state attorney generals office to see if the online degree institution they are concerned with is operating legally and whether it is accredited by a nationally recognized agency.We can now see whether an online degree institution is legitimate, but how do we know if it is any good ? This problem of quality is not unique to online institutions and is shared by face-to-face teaching colleges. In the face-to-face world, there are recognized league tables of degree quality by subject, which you can access to ascertain how good an institution/school actually is, and the same goes for online degrees. There are many surveys out there, but the fruchtwein reputable and comprehensive online degree program league table I could find was the Best Online Degrees Program Table by the U.S. News and World Report.This shows how easy it is to authenticate an online degree institution and assess its quality, which means that the last remaining detractor in relation to online degrees is the issue of student authentication, e.g. how can you be sure that the degree holder actually did the work and didnt simply pay someone else to do it. In truth, we can never be totally sure, but we should be clear that this issue ofstudent authenticationand faking are not unique to online institut ions it is a problem which afflicts traditional degrees, too.But, steps have been taken to reduce faking in online degrees. The College Opportunity and Affordability Actrequires online colleges that are receiving federal funds to ensure that the person enrolled in the course is actually doing the work. As a result, these online institutions take student authentication very seriously and many operate face-to-face or secure testing, and others use intensive camera surveillance at the student exam site along with third party monitors. Retinal scanning, electronic finger printing and key stroke analysis are all in the pipeline.So, as you can see, the online degree sector is maturing and evolving into a very credible education sector. Provided you can verify the educational institution is both legitimate and of sufficient quality, online degrees should be considered on an equal basis to face-to-face degrees.