Comments on: Do hiring managers care about online diplomas?

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:57:28 +0000

I attended a brick and mortar school for my first master’s degree. Classes where suppose to run 4 hours once a week for 6 weeks. Many professors wasted the first 45 minutes of class, lectured about one hour, gave some team work for about 30 minutes, and then said class was over. We received about 7 hours lecture out of 24 total hours of class. My second mater’s degree was online. If the course required 24 hours total of lectures, there was 24 hours of lectures and plenty of homework after. I agree with people that online courses are tougher.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:52:22 +0000

I am currently attending both online and on campus classes. Being single and working 48 hours a week is tough. I respect those who complete online classes it is tougher than you think. Campus class you can get more out of your instructor.

By: nessa

nessa — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:06:58 +0000

I would definitely consider someone with an on-line degree, but I am in the same boat as several other people who posted replies and would chose a well experienced person over a degree any time. I have been in Human Resources for 16 years, 14 of them on a Director level.

By: Cynthia Jones

Cynthia Jones — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:24:58 +0000

AJ you make a good point but attending a traditional school allows for the same dishonesty as online. Who says that everyone who attends a traditional school does their own homework, research papers, etc? So I disagree with your statement in that context. I am an online student who has earned her Bachelors Magna Cum Laude and currently pursuing my Masters online and you can best believe I put in the work to get the grades I do.

As for your friends, I believe they are the exception, not the rule when it comes to online degrees. The big reveal will come when the friend who is not doing the work gets a job and is clueless as to what she is doing.

By: AJ

AJ — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:57:32 +0000

I agree, an online courses are much more difficult then the in-house classes. I have been taken classes for the past two years. I take a mix of both, because I work fulltime, and I’m a single mother who simply cannot be on campus three nights a week. I do however like campus classes better for the simple fact they are easier. The teachers are more willing to for go certain material then an online instructor is willing to do.

As an HR assistant, and hopefully one day be a manager, I would like to see at least campus classes, and or a mix of both. The reason being, I have a friend who has been working on a degree for the past year now, and I know our other friend does most of her work. The girlfriend who is doing the work is also getting a completely online degree, and I have encouraged her to take a least a few campus classes. She didn’t understand why, until I explained her doing our other friends work, is the reason. The one friend, who isn’t doing any work, is still earning credits towards a degree she doesn’t deserve. I don’t condone their actions, but knowing what I know, is why I would like to see an applicant who has a mix of online and campus courses. A totally online degree is just too easy to forge these days.

By: LC

LC — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:23:13 +0000

I agree with RandiG. I would choose the experience and skills over a degree any day. Most of these applicants got their degrees thru the school of ‘hard-knocks’ and generally have better work ethics and smaller egos as well!

By: RandiG

RandiG — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:46:39 +0000

Experience and skills are more important than where the degree was earned. I would never presume to know the best college or learning method for anyone else. The end result is what counts.

By: Rhonda J.

Rhonda J. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:40:59 +0000

I guess to get back to the question at hand, Do Hiring Managers Care about Online Degrees? Being the Director of Human Resources and the hiring manager I, definitely, view the degree as a plus when weighing the factors of which candidate to extend the job offer to. But, given the decision to make, of who I would hire between a well seasoned and experienced individual without a degree vs. an individual with a degree, but limited to no experience, I go with the first candidate.

By: Lilly

Lilly — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:10:50 +0000

You guys are so right. If the school is accredited, I’d say the online course is putting out the same quality & they are tough. Interacting with other faceless students isn’t comfortable, but you get over that soon enough. Discipline; you MUST put the time into it and it is easy to get distracted by children, pets, the phone, etc, but at least you have flexibility in schedule. My biology lecture was aired on tv. Some have online videos. Questions were posted on the online bulletin board. Labs & tests done on campus or online. All in all, online courses are a great alternative for those who are focused & have time or distance constraints.

On the other hand, I have a friend who chooses to go to traditional school because she needs to get away from the distractions @home, and also because she doesn’t have the discipline to devote the time in front of the computer.

By: MNHR

MNHR — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:27:27 +0000

I have done the traditional learning and am currently finishing up online to obtain my BA. Both ways of learning take effort, but online is definitely harder and really makes a person more disciplined and organized. Plus computer skills are learned on top of it all. I have had a few people tell me online is easy, but they haven’t taken any online courses. I would look at both equally as long as the schools are accredited.