If what's offered online is the same as what's offered on campus, from faculty to syllabus, Turoff says,"You can have some confidence that the online program is of the same quality. Today, most quality institutions publish online syllabuses of their courses. If they don't do that, you should be suspicious." Specialization can be a factor as well, says Turoff. "One computer-science department might be highly theoretical, with little practical application," he says. "Another might be concentrated in a particular field, such as artificial intelligence. If that's not what you're interested in, you should go elsewhere." Touro's Howard says most good colleges and universities publish faculty resumes online. "Look at where the professionals got their degrees," she suggests. "There are two distinct faculty models teaching online courses. At any major university, professors teaching graduate courses are all at the Ph.D. level, and should be actively involved in research. At for-profit institutions, they are more likely to be adjuncts or come from industry." Both Turoff and Howard recommend checking with professional organizations to find out what online courses meet their requirements. "If you're pursuing continuing education for nursing or teaching, they would have the best resources about where to enroll," Howard says. Turoff says professional bodies such as the
Association of Computing Machinery publish generally accepted standards for various degree programs, as well as documents explaining the differences between them.
"Knowing that you are interested in computing is not enough," he says. "You need to understand the huge number of alternatives. Computer science, information systems, computer engineering and so on require separate degree programs." This can be particularly helpful in assessing online courses offered by technical institutions, Turoff says, since many of them don't bother with accreditation, a lengthy and difficult process. E-degrees gain acceptance
On the job front, applicants with degrees from reputable online sources are increasing able to compete with their more traditionally educated peers, says Phillips.
"Beginning in 1996," she says, "we've seen a sharp increase in acceptance of distance degrees in corporate America. In 1989, fewer than 50 percent of corporate managers we surveyed rated a distance degree as good as a residential option. By 2000, it had risen to 79 percent, and in 2001, acceptance rates climbed to 85 percent." She speculates the change in attitude is due in part to a general acceptance of all things Internet, as well as the fact that "more name-brand players are getting involved. It's no longer just a matter of matchbook-cover schools no one ever heard of." Established universities get in the act
Well-established and respected schools play a role in the transformation, too. Kathy Febraio, director of outreach and communication for the SUNY Learning Network, an online delivery system serving 40 of 64 State University of New York campuses, says student transcripts from her school don't indicate if a degree is earned on campus or online.
Peter Rubba, senior director for Penn State World Campus, and Sallie Johnson, dean of the Distance Learning Center for Troy University in Alabama, say their universities don't put the e-factor on official records either. But hold on, says Susan Gottlieb, practice leader for financial-service and human-resource practices at Futurestep, a Korn-Ferry company that specializes in filling middle-management positions. Fortune 500 companies, she says, are still likely to look askance at degrees earned at unfamiliar or less regarded institutions. "It depends on the industry," Gottlieb says. "There's an elitism among top accounting firms and investment banking firms. To be acceptable, you would have to go to certain schools and have a certain grade-point average. Online degrees have a long way to go before they would be acceptable there. "You really have to do due diligence to find out what impact your degree will have. People can get duped and find themselves in the same situation as someone who goes to a medical school offshore, then can't get a job in the U.S.," she says.
Costs run the gamut
The cost of a good online education isn't much different from what you'd pay on campus, says Phillips. But, she warns, there can be significant differences in fees.
GetEducated.com publishes "best buy" lists of accredited online programs based on biannual surveys. For an MBA, Phillips says, "you can expect to pay as much as $107,000 or as little as $2,760. The average is a little over $16,000." The majority of "best buys," she says, come from state or publicly supported colleges and universities, where relaxed admission policies are broadening the market. "Traditionally, residents of the state were charged a lower tuition than nonresidents," Phillips says. "Now most have a single e-tuition rate regardless of residency, which makes them a phenomenally good buy no matter where you live." At Troy University, says Johnson, undergraduate credits online "cost close to what they would on campus. There might be a minimal additional fee to purchase a software program. "An MBA degree runs $100 to $110 higher per credit hour because it calls for higher qualifications of faculty and more expensive delivery," she says. Penn State World Campus charges e-students, no matter where they live, a fee comparable to the cost of on-campus instruction for Pennsylvania residents, Rubba says. Tuition at the SUNY Learning Network is also the same as for face-to-face instruction on campus, Febraio says, but there's no break for out-of-state residents. Surprisingly, degrees from for-profit institutions are rarely good buys, Phillips says, though slick-marketing techniques often suggest otherwise. "For-profits," she says, "may make their programs appear less costly by charging less per credit, but requiring more credits than is standard. So you have to look at the cost of the whole degree." Marilyn Bowden is a freelance writer based in Prescott, Ariz. |