The acceptance of an online degree primary depends upon issuing institution, then course content.

But yes, online degrees not as easily accepted as the traditional regular contact degrees.

Hello,

Thanks for the question - well, back in the 60s and the 70s there were those high ranking universities that would accept your enrollment - and you can only go to the university to sit for the exam... and of course some review sessions before then... there was no online back then... this was very practical - and due to lack of funds - the student would be working during the study - and save some funds to spend while on exam... and this worked well as there were wars then, and it was better to be with family...

Now, we have the ONLINE - and I would say here there are some factors that have to be considered:

The reputation of the university offering the course

The reputation of the unit coordinator running the course

The capabilities of the student and their ability to work unsupervised!

Thanks and regards

Theodora Issa

This is true in general, because often people take distance learning courses as an "easy way to get a degree" from institutions which runs these courses more as a business. There is very little attention to student performance, monitoring, review, etc and evaluation is usually sloppy at best. Students opt for these institutions precisely for this reason. Proper curriculum, proper evaluation of submitted assignments and exam sheets, proper monitoring and checking during examinations, presence of a trusted local mentor/supervisor who can certify fairness at the candidate's place (re assignments, etc), due attention on practical skills and evaluation, etc can go a long way to make these courses comparable to the traditional courses. There are many institutions of the former type, and they shadow the ones who do a good job. And as a result 'distance learning' degrees are branded poorly. Hope things will change in the future.

Hello again,

Well, there is a need to have a measure of auditing on those institutions and ranking - then we can be sure that they are there for a GOOD REASON and providing a good curriculum to those students who are keen to learn but their circumstances are difficult they cannot be at the uni on daily basis! Not that they are LAZY and going for the EASY option!

Thanks and regards

Theodora Issa

Hello again

Well, Chris what do you mean by 'tightening up requirements' - would that mean some of those offering courses online will be gone!?

Regards

Theodora Issa

Hello there,

I am a distance learner myself, currently enroled in an English Studies Degree at the Spanish Distance University. At the same time, I work at a traditional university, with presence courses and lectures, so can compare both systems. It is widely recognised that the Distance University is much more demanding than a traditional one. You are just a number, nobody knows your personal circumstances and you are judged just by your results. And I can assure you than you have to work very, very hard. As for the curriculum, it has nothing to envy those of more prestigious universities, on the contrary! And then, it is a question of fairness. There are many people who have not been able to study before, because of multiple reasons. Distance Learning Education is an invaluable tool, nowadays recognised everywhere, by the most prestigious universities in the world. And in the era of ICTs, how could it be otherwise?

Best,

Águeda Sánchez.

I think the root of your question delves into the culture of those who dispute or praise the online degree offering. If you review the history of how education is delivered, there was (and for some still is) a time when theories such as social learning, constructivism and/or even constructionism were seen as being unbelievably inappropriate...after all only the "teacher or instructor" can teach/deliver/know about any topic. Online learning is on that similar path where many will spend time dissuading prospective learners simply because the theories/strategies and delivery methods are not what is termed the "norm". The time spent challenging the use and/or delivery should be spent evaluating and researching the field to see what works and what does not work.

In my opinion a major factor in the credibility of any degree should be the standard of competences expected in the exams. In established good schools, such a standard is usually assured by a consensus between the faculty members involved in teaching each subject. While this process is successful in many cases, it is nevertheless intransparent and relies on the judgement of a small number of persons.

Online learning opens up novel ways to define standards for exams. I have presented a short outline of community-legitimated standards in education in a conference paper a few years ago. As my present position has only limited teaching responsibilities, I did not yet have a possiblity to validate this concept in my own work.

Conference Paper Community-legitimated e-Testing - A Basis for a Novel, Self-...

In China,we hava thousands of students get degrees (Bachelor degree or specialist) throngh onlines learning,

But there are some discirminations agnist this students.for example, many large company,especially stated owned enterprises state they didn't employ graduate who have got degree online .meanwiles, many emerging technology company choose the capable one .

Just likes traditional education, there are many problem in online education, like cheating in examations .but people tend to believe student in school are more intelligent . Becuase in China people thought only the teenages failed in the college entrance exam will go to online college (there are also many poor students who can afford the tuition when they were young also get online education to improlve themself after they can offord ),

Distance learning is credible as long as all the standard of quality is fit within it but the traditional learning remains the strongest as we know inside ourself how the leaning process is enriched on campus study.

I am working at the Swiss Distance University for Applied Sciences (www.ffhs.ch). In the same building resides the Distance Learning University of Switzerland (www.fernuni.ch).

My experience in Switzerland is that there's some skepticism about distance learning even if the degrees are accepted by the national government. It happens often, that I have to defend e-learning in general, e.g. to get professional associations to accept e-learning for advanced training and on-the-job training. Often there are rules permitting only a certain amount of online courses.

Part of the defense of the classical in class learning is due to concurrence with institutions that offer e-learning, part because of negative experiences with pseudo e-learning and false knowledge about it. As e-learning depends on digital media there is also some skepticism about „new media“. E-learning is not typical for conservative people!

Finally, all depends on the quality of the schools resp. universities that offer e-learning courses. There are good ones and surly there are some bad ones as they are among traditional schools and universities.

It’s much ado about the new train - the velocity could get people crazy.