Getting a Traditional Vs. Online Degree Term Paper

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Online vs. traditional degrees [...] difference between getting a traditional (attending class) education vs. online/distance degree. Since the advent of the Internet, increasing numbers of students of all ages are utilizing online courses as part of their higher education experience. Today, getting a degree totally though online coursework is becoming more and more popular, but what are the negatives of obtaining an online degree vs. A traditional in-class degree? Many experts believe an online degree is simply not as effective as a traditional degree.

Online education has been making major strides in education around the world since the mid-1990s. Students from high school to graduate school utilize online courses to augment their schoolwork, but online courses are especially popular with older students, who find they fit in to their hectic schedule more effectively. One survey found over 6000 online courses offered in the year 2000 (Long and Javidi). While many more schools are jumping on the distance education bandwagon, the question remains, how effective is distance education vs. traditional in-class education? Many educators believe there are many positive outcomes from distance education, as one expert notes, "Contrary to intuition, current Web-based online college courses are not an alienating, mass-produced product. They are a labor-intensive, highly text-based, intellectually challenging forum which elicits deeper thinking on the part of the students and which presents, for better or worse, more equality between instructor and student" (Smith, Ferguson, and Caris 18). However, much of the business community is still quite hesitant to recognize online education as a viable alternative to the traditional degree process.

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When questioned, many hiring authorities in the business community feel strongly about the differences between an online and traditional degree. Several surveys have been conducted in the human resource community, and usually, online degrees do not hold as much credibility in the workplace as traditional degrees.

Among the 239 human-resources professionals and recruiters surveyed, only 30% report having encountered applicants with online degrees. Yet only 26% say an online bachelor's degree is as credible as a traditional bachelor's degree. About two-thirds -- 61% -- say an online bachelor's degree isn't as credible but is still acceptable, while the remaining 13% say online bachelor's degrees aren't credible or acceptable (Vogt).

In addition, a proportionate number do not recognize graduate online degrees with as much enthusiasm as traditional degrees. Thus, the online degree may be more convenient and appealing to many students, but it may not stand the test in the hiring process. The applicant with an online degree may be hired, but in the case of two equal candidates, one with an online degree, and one with a traditional degree, most hiring authorities say they will hire the traditional candidate over the online candidate (Vogt). Like it or not, many employers do not understand the complexities of online education, and they view the degrees as….....

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"Getting A Traditional Vs Online Degree" (2004, April 03) Retrieved May 20, 2025, from
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