Distance Education Graduates

in Education by Denise Gabbard — May 23, 2011 at 6:42 pm | 0 comments

… And Moves into Mainstream

Most people understand that a degree usually helps in the job search, and increases the amount of money that can be earned over a lifetime. Those same people frequently are full-time employees and full-time parents, in addition to any other commitments they might have. This leaves them very little time to commit to schoolwork. One way to make the most of that time is to take online courses and work at a less structured pace, whenever and wherever it can be done. But will a virtual degree serve be honored in the workplace?

 

History

As early as the 1700′s, distance education was in place in the form of handwritten and posted  correspondence courses. Problems facing distance learning, such as gaining the approval of the masses, and how to implement the processes, were remarkably similar to this same learning style today. Through the years, the growth of online learning has not been easy, and its reputation has been a significant part of the problem. However, today’s technological advances, and the offering of online courses by some of the world’s most highly respected universities has led to more widespread acceptance of an education obtained by virtual means.

 

Certainly, personal computers and the creation of the Internet are not the first advances in technology since the 1700′s, and there have been other versions of distance learning along the way. In the 1930′s, radio transmission of courses was done, and the late 1970s heralded PBS television broadcasts of courses. Those mediums had limitations because they required students to tune in at certain times, and on certain days. Testing still was typically done on the college campus for those courses.

 

Fast Forward

Today, about 70 percent of households have a personal computer and internet service, making for a very reliable and instant delivery service. Lecture courses can be recorded on audio, video, or  transcribed into text for virtual learners, and they can access this information at any time that is convenient for them. As the programs increase, so do the number of enrollments, and there are now about 5 million students taking courses through online learning platforms.

 

Online education is also being embraced as the wave of the future, and among those embracing it are Ivy League colleges. In fact, Columbia, Cornell, and Harvard have the most extensive offerings in distance education, but they are by no means the only well-known schools with online programs. In fact, it would likely be difficult to find any large university that has not added this option to their class schedule for students.

 

It is now possible to earn a degree without ever stepping foot on campus. Textbooks and other course materials are frequently delivered via electronic means. Study is done completely off-site, from wherever the student is located and can access the internet via computer. Testing can be done at the campus site, but more often students are tested virtually from the comfort of their own homes, or at a local test proctor in some cases.

 

Looking to the Future

Now, to answer the question about how degrees not obtained from a traditional brick and mortar university are viewed: many CEOs and hiring managers are familiar with distance learning, and some hiring managers may even have taken online courses themselves; those people familiar with the process weight distance learning and campus courses equivalently in 83% of the cases. This number will only increase as more exceptional employees are hired after obtaining a virtual degree.

 

The perception that virtual learners do not work as hard, or learn as much, as those educated on-campus, is already being resolved. The addition of such a wide variety of colleges that offer the virtual courses and degrees has helped expand the sheer numbers of students, and those students and their friends and families will help to change the perception that virtual learning does not provide the quality of education as on-campus learning.

 

Virtual degree programs have definitely made it possible for some people to get an education that could not have just a short time ago. There are still challenges; students still need to work diligently to be successful, but many barriers have been removed. These changes are enabling many more people to complete an education which may make a significant difference in their career.

Ready to move with the times and get a degree online? Click the link to get started!

Tags: computers degree distance education technology