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January 11, 2008

Employers not yet sold on online learning

This thing called online learning is a mixed bag. On one hand, it's a way to an education you might not otherwise get. If you live in a rural area, can't get to a campus due to work or family obligations, are in the military or physically disabled, or if you're just not comfortable in a traditional classroom, it's a perfect solution. On the other hand, when it comes to credentials, employers don't seem sold - yet.

Of 18 million college students, about 3.6 million take courses online.

But neither employers nor learners are convinced that online learning is mainstream, says Dr. Mary Bold, associate professor of family studies at Texas Woman's University who teaches online and on campus.

Online learning is not ubiquitous, but it is recognized as a valid means of education, Bold says, "often superior to land-based, on-campus education." She adds, "I have seen weak students flounder online and I've seen instructors take the lazy route and produce bad online courses. But when online learning is done well, it is fabulous."

Workers, including Gloria in New Jersey who wrote me recently, worry how employers would perceive an online education. So I asked Dr. Margaret DeFleur, associate dean for Graduate Studies and Research at Louisiana State University and associate professor D. Jonathan Adams at Florida State University, both of whom have conducted extensive research on employer attitudes toward online degrees. The verdict is that employers say they are "far less likely to find an online degree as acceptable. Such degrees are perceived as being inferior," says Adams.

Employers who had taken online courses themselves were just as unlikely as other employers to view online degrees and courses as "equal."

The professors looked at the views of employers from several industries. When given a choice between three candidates, university employers would pick a person with a degree from a traditional program instead of an online program 98 percent of the time. Businesses employers would choose the traditional student 96 percent of the time and health care organizations would choose the traditional student 93 percent of the time.

What bugs employers? The biggest perceived weakness with online learning is the lack of face-to-face classroom interaction with students, faculty and experts. Other issues include a program's reputation for a rigorous curriculum and lack of "mentored research, teaching and clinical or field experiences," says Adams. The type or size of business didn't matter. The "perception that online degrees are less acceptable remains the same," he says.

Bold says the biggest misconception about online study is that it will be easier. It may save gas money and babysitting charges, but it won't save effort or time, she says.

"(Online) interaction can be just as stimulating," she argues, but it develops differently, with "extended research into a topic through collaboration that can occur anytime, anywhere."

Gloria Zucker, an academic program chair at Kaplan University, a predominantly online institution, say online education was considered "a walk in the park," but that it can be more difficult than face-to-face because you must be self-motivated. In some fields, an online degree is more acceptable than a brick-and-mortar degree, such as in instructional technology and online college teaching, she says.

"Reputation and credibility of online degrees are fair concerns for students and employers," says Bold. "The best protection comes from our accreditors, who are pretty darn tough on distance providers."

If you've got experience under your belt, the degree, while still important, is not judged as critically, says Adams.

Adams says, "We have heard statements such as "'Once people try it, it will be more accepted.'"

My advice: If it fits your life, try it, you just might like it - and just as important, you'll undoubtedly learn something.

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