Convenience is the main reason that people seek online degrees from places like the University of Phoenix, Kaplan University or DeVry University. But how seriously are those degrees taken as graduates search for jobs?
That’s exactly what Renee Edwards asked herself. After spending several years as a teacher, Edwards decided that she wanted to pursue a career as an independent early intervention speech and language pathologist. But she ran into a couple of roadblocks.
“Through speaking with universities and colleges, most are giving the online option to take classes. They say it is where education is headed,” says Edwards. The advice prompted Edwards, who earned a master’s degree from DePaul University several years ago, to thoroughly research online college programs.
“Through speaking with employers, tenured professors, seasoned principals, [I found that] that they are more acclimated to the traditional brick-and-mortar schools. Therefore, they feel that online programs do not give the proper training and schooling needed to be effective,” Edwards says.
Edwards had registered with the University of Phoenix, but the sage advice she’d received, along with her findings from exhaustive research, led her in a different direction.
“The ‘desperate times calls for desperate measures’ line comes to mind,” Edwards says. “However, I decided not to pursue the degree because of cost and the research I did. I read blogs about reviews of the program I was interested in and the requirements change frequently [and] at whim, and the quality of staff may not be up to par. … I didn’t feel like the school was a scam, but the convenience of earning a degree may have been too good to be true.”
Edwards is still struggling with the decision of where to attend school, but her research exposed her to tools that will help her make an informed decision. She wouldn’t go as far as discrediting all online programs, but doing homework to find those that meet certain desired criteria is an absolute must.
A comprehensive tool to aid in reseaching online degrees and courses is the Web site www.onlinedegreereviews.org. It was created in 2006 by Steve Rawlinson to help answer crucial questions about online education.
“There are lots of Web sites that list online degrees. But none help you decide which colleges are good or worth your time and money,” says Rawlinson. “In my own search for an online degree, I was frustrated by the lack of information, so I created this site where people can share their experiences.”
The University of Phoenix is an accredited university and was founded in 1976. According to the school’s site, nearly half a million people are registered seeking degrees in nursing, education, technology or criminal justice. If one does not have access to the Internet, campus courses are available across the United States and Canada. –nykeya woods
