Online degrees
Encyclopedia
An online degree is an academic degree
(usually a college
degree, but sometimes the term includes high school diplomas and non-degree certificate programs) that can be earned primarily or entirely through the use of an Internet
-connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus
setting. Improvements in technology and the increasing use of the Internet worldwide have led to a proliferation of online colleges that award associate, bachelor's
, master's
, and doctoral degrees
.
, according to the United States Department of Education
, is to ensure that programs provided by institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality. ENQA, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education
, describes the role of external quality assurance in education as one that "combines both accountability for the reassurance of the public and an objective and developmental role for enhancing quality in institutions". In the area of online education, it is important to avoid unaccredited diploma mills that offer fake degrees, as these are unfortunately common. Students seeking valid online degrees should obtain proof of accreditation from an appropriate accrediting body.
In the United States, online colleges that are fully accredited have earned a widely recognized form of university accreditation from one of six regional accreditation
boards. Each of six geographic regions of the United States has one of these boards, a non-governmental
agency that oversees and accredits degree-granting institutions headquartered in their areas. The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA) recognize the Distance Education and Training Council
(DETC) as the accrediting organization for distance learning institutions and education programs that offer online degrees. However, DETC accreditation is commonly (though not universally) viewed as inferior to regional accreditation, and regionally accredited schools may refuse to accept transfer credit from DETC-accredited schools more often than they would refuse credit from other regionally-accredited schools.
Outside of the United States, other national and regional standards of accreditation hold, and may be highly supportive of distance education. For example, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, or Open University of Catalonia, has been accredited by AQU, the Agency for Quality Assurance in the Catalan University System (a full member of ENQA), since its inception in 1995, and has been called a "significant success story" as "the world's first continuous, and sustainable, virtual university".
The perception of the quality of online degrees compared to on-campus degrees varies. While most major online colleges are regionally accredited, the public estimation of their quality is in dispute. A national survey of hiring representatives showed that a preference toward on-campus degrees exists. In some instances, hiring executives were unwilling to consider applicants with an online degree. Some experts argue that degrees in certain fields are more accepted online than in others, while some programs are less suited for online-only schools.
A survey by the Distance Education and Training Council
found that 100% of employers who responded felt that distance education program graduates performed better on the job as a result of their degree (as compared to their previous performance). Additionally, employers felt that an employee receiving a distance education degree compared favorably, in terms of knowledge learned, to someone with a resident degree. On the other hand, The Chronicle of Higher Education
reported in January 2007 on a Vault Inc. survey that found 55 percent of employers preferred traditional degrees over online ones. Forty-one percent, however, said they would give "equal consideration to both types of degrees".
The Sloan Consortium
, an organization funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
to maintain and improve the quality of distance education, publishes regular reports on the state of United States distance education. In its 2006 report "Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006," it stated that "in 2003, 57 percent of academic leaders rated the learning outcomes in online education as the same or superior to those in face-to-face. That number is now 62 percent, a small but noteworthy increase".
In some instances, an online degree may be effectively indistinguishable from a degree earned in a campus-based program. The instruction is often exactly the same, with the online degree containing no special designation. An example of this is the degree offered to Columbia University
students who earn a degree through the Columbia Video Network (CVN) versus the campus-based program.
(NCES) conducted a distance education study based on the 2001-2002 academic year at United States 2-year and 4-year degree-granting institutions that were eligible for U.S. federal student aid. The study reported that 56 percent of institutions surveyed offered distance education courses. The study also found that public institutions were more likely to offer distance education than were private institutions.
The Sloan Consortium, based on data collected from over 2,200 U.S. colleges and universities, reports that nearly 3.2 million students took at least one online course during 2005 (a significant increase over the 2.3 million reported in 2004). According to the same report, about two-thirds of the largest institutions have fully online programs.
-eligible institution.
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
(usually a college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
degree, but sometimes the term includes high school diplomas and non-degree certificate programs) that can be earned primarily or entirely through the use of an Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
setting. Improvements in technology and the increasing use of the Internet worldwide have led to a proliferation of online colleges that award associate, bachelor's
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
, master's
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
, and doctoral degrees
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
.
Accreditation
The goal of educational accreditationEducational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
, according to the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, is to ensure that programs provided by institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality. ENQA, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education
European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education
The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education came into being in 2000 as the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. In 2004 it was transformed from a network into an association....
, describes the role of external quality assurance in education as one that "combines both accountability for the reassurance of the public and an objective and developmental role for enhancing quality in institutions". In the area of online education, it is important to avoid unaccredited diploma mills that offer fake degrees, as these are unfortunately common. Students seeking valid online degrees should obtain proof of accreditation from an appropriate accrediting body.
In the United States, online colleges that are fully accredited have earned a widely recognized form of university accreditation from one of six regional accreditation
Regional accreditation
Regional accreditation is a term used in the United States to refer to educational accreditation conducted by any of several accreditation bodies established to serve six defined geographic areas of the country for accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities...
boards. Each of six geographic regions of the United States has one of these boards, a non-governmental
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
agency that oversees and accredits degree-granting institutions headquartered in their areas. The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
(CHEA) recognize the Distance Education and Training Council
Distance Education and Training Council
The Distance Education and Training Council is a non-profit national educational accreditation agency in the United States specializing in the accreditation of distance education institutions.- History :...
(DETC) as the accrediting organization for distance learning institutions and education programs that offer online degrees. However, DETC accreditation is commonly (though not universally) viewed as inferior to regional accreditation, and regionally accredited schools may refuse to accept transfer credit from DETC-accredited schools more often than they would refuse credit from other regionally-accredited schools.
Outside of the United States, other national and regional standards of accreditation hold, and may be highly supportive of distance education. For example, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, or Open University of Catalonia, has been accredited by AQU, the Agency for Quality Assurance in the Catalan University System (a full member of ENQA), since its inception in 1995, and has been called a "significant success story" as "the world's first continuous, and sustainable, virtual university".
Quality of learning online
Online education enables accredited higher learning for individuals living with physical disabilities, busy full-time employees, soldiers, those living abroad, and stay-at-home parents, among others.The perception of the quality of online degrees compared to on-campus degrees varies. While most major online colleges are regionally accredited, the public estimation of their quality is in dispute. A national survey of hiring representatives showed that a preference toward on-campus degrees exists. In some instances, hiring executives were unwilling to consider applicants with an online degree. Some experts argue that degrees in certain fields are more accepted online than in others, while some programs are less suited for online-only schools.
A survey by the Distance Education and Training Council
Distance Education and Training Council
The Distance Education and Training Council is a non-profit national educational accreditation agency in the United States specializing in the accreditation of distance education institutions.- History :...
found that 100% of employers who responded felt that distance education program graduates performed better on the job as a result of their degree (as compared to their previous performance). Additionally, employers felt that an employee receiving a distance education degree compared favorably, in terms of knowledge learned, to someone with a resident degree. On the other hand, The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
reported in January 2007 on a Vault Inc. survey that found 55 percent of employers preferred traditional degrees over online ones. Forty-one percent, however, said they would give "equal consideration to both types of degrees".
The Sloan Consortium
Sloan Consortium
The Sloan Consortium is an institutional and professional leadership organization dedicated to integrating online education into the mainstream of higher education. The goal of the Sloan Consortium is to "help institutions and individual educators improve the quality, scale, and breadth of online...
, an organization funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic non-profit organization in the United States. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors.-Overview:...
to maintain and improve the quality of distance education, publishes regular reports on the state of United States distance education. In its 2006 report "Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006," it stated that "in 2003, 57 percent of academic leaders rated the learning outcomes in online education as the same or superior to those in face-to-face. That number is now 62 percent, a small but noteworthy increase".
In some instances, an online degree may be effectively indistinguishable from a degree earned in a campus-based program. The instruction is often exactly the same, with the online degree containing no special designation. An example of this is the degree offered to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
students who earn a degree through the Columbia Video Network (CVN) versus the campus-based program.
Prevalence of online education
The National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
(NCES) conducted a distance education study based on the 2001-2002 academic year at United States 2-year and 4-year degree-granting institutions that were eligible for U.S. federal student aid. The study reported that 56 percent of institutions surveyed offered distance education courses. The study also found that public institutions were more likely to offer distance education than were private institutions.
The Sloan Consortium, based on data collected from over 2,200 U.S. colleges and universities, reports that nearly 3.2 million students took at least one online course during 2005 (a significant increase over the 2.3 million reported in 2004). According to the same report, about two-thirds of the largest institutions have fully online programs.
Financial aid
Until 2006, United States students enrolled in online degree programs were not eligible for federal student aid unless at least half of their program was campus-based (a law established in 1992 and known as the 50-percent rule). In February 2006, that law was repealed, making federal student aid in the form of federal loans, grants, and work-study available in the U.S. for students enrolled in an eligible online degree program at an accredited Title IVTitle IV
Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 covers the administration of the United States federal student financial aid programs....
-eligible institution.