Value of online degrees

The popularity of online learning has got a lot of people wondering about the value of online degrees. In the past distance learning was looked down on as a second class education but in large part this changed with the internet. Online degrees have become widely accepted and in general are now considered to be the equal of an on campus degree. However in recent years there has been a downgrade in the quality of some of the online degrees that are available and it may be just a matter of time before they are again relegated to second class status.

The value of an online degree is that these days they are pretty much a requirement if you want to get ahead at work. The internet has made degrees available to a lot more people and the result has been significant credential inflation. These days a job that a few years ago required only a high school diploma now may require a masters degree. Usually this isn’t because the job requires the skills that are learned with a masters degree but simply because there are so many people who have them. With advanced degrees now so readily available more and more people are taking advantage of them. It used to be that an advanced degree was something that only a small number of very ambitious people pursued in an attempt to get ahead at work. These days an advanced degree is pretty much a requirement just to keep up.

The days when you attended school graduated got a job and never bothered to enhance your education are long gone. These days online learning has provided so many opportunities to upgrade your education that you are going to have to constantly be studying throughout your career. In the past people would get a masters degree in order to advance their careers, now you almost have to have one in order to keep up. The ambitious people who are trying to get ahead are now pursuing doctorates online. It won’t be long before most promotions are only available to those with doctorate degrees.

One of the problems with this credential inflation is that a lot of rather questionable schools have been created. This has started to raise questions about the value of online degrees because clearly there are issues with quality control. The problem is that a lot of the schools that are offering online degrees are for profit businesses. Clearly if you have strict admission standards or a high failure rate you are going to be losing students and there for losing profits. A lot of these schools treat students like customers rather than students. They cater to what their customers want rather than setting a standard that has to be met. This has got a lot of people concerned about the quality of the education that is being provided.