Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Do employers look down on online degrees?

The value of online college degrees is tethered to a university’s traditional presence, accreditation, and name recognition, according to series of studies and surveys.

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Employers said accreditation played a big role in shaping their view of an online degree.

Colleges and universities have advertised their growing web-based courses as an alternative for nontraditional students who couldn’t possibly attend school the traditional way, spending hours a day in campus lecture halls and discussions sections.

If employers don’t view online degrees in the same light as their traditional counterparts, the question arises: will an online education — no matter how convenient and inexpensive — reap the same financial benefits?

Drexel University released an infographic summarizing what, exactly, employers think of college degrees earned through online classes. The findings were encouraging for many — but not all — online degree holders.…Read More

How to find a quality online degree

While online degrees were once largely seen as being second-rate, recent studies have reported that employers are not only more open to, but are even showing a favorable sentiment toward candidates with online degrees these days, reports AOL Jobs. One such study, conducted by Excelsior College/Zogby International, found that 61 percent of CEOs and small-business owners were familiar with online degree programs–and 83 percent of those considered online degrees equivalent to those earned in a traditional classroom…

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Distance-ed students forming college clubs online

At a handful of institutions, students working toward degrees online are meeting outside of class via the web to form online clubs as well, USA Today reports. These extracurricular organizations offer online students what many feel they are missing: the social and professional opportunities that historically have been part of the college experience. “When you’re on campus, you have opportunities to engage your faculty and your peers,” says Debra Ann Mynar, 39, an online psychology student at Pennsylvania State University‘s World Campus. “When you do distance education, you don’t have those similar opportunities unless you make them.” Mynar, a full-time business administrator by day, is the president and co-founder of the World Campus’s psychology club, a completely online group that sprung up several years ago alongside the World Campus’s psychology program. The club, which has 124 members from far-flung states and several foreign countries, hosts online discussions and video lectures—mostly focusing on career advice—through the campus’s learning management system. And unlike many live talks held by traditional student clubs, the events are archived online for posterity…

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