Where do you stand on the Online vs. Regular degrees?

I have been looking to get my B.S, so I started to reach out to some friends and ask their opinions. Most of them said that they would prefer hiring someone without an online degree. They said that they believed that the quality of education is usually pretty low. Now, personally I would hire from both based on the applicant's qualifications, but how would others feel?

I'm looking to get back to college and finally get my B.S in Information Technology. I was considering going to WGU like many of you, but now I've been leaning towards going to the local PennState branch near here and getting my B.S in IT there, which I believe they offer some classes online as well.

I know that WGU would allow me to work faster, but if I went to the classes at PennState, I would get a "good ol' regular B.S degree" from them. WGU would also probably come out a bit cheaper, but I'm sure I'm eligible for full tuition at both colleges.

Where do you stand on this?

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Comments

NetworkVeteran

The more obvious hit in the US of A will be the type of degree, e.g. a BS in IT rather than in CS or EE. Plenty of folks have done well here with an online degree, but you will encounter employers and HR departments who won't accept or value it.

Do whatever works best for your life situation.

Plantwiz

It depends.

If I am able to attend a brick-n-mortar school...I would.

I did not enjoy the online experience, it felt like I was paying money for a credit without the commitment...and while that is not the case, that is how it felt. The subtleties of a classroom are lost with the online experience, but it does open other doors, such as you have more convenience as to when you can watch the course and you are basically guaranteed a returned e-mail because that is frequently how the class communicates (or whichever technical means your class uses, bbs or forum based posting).

As far as hiring a BNM degree over an online degree...again, it depends. It depends on where the degree was earned from, the type and of course the other qualifications. There are still mail order masters degrees out there where you pay a lot of money and write a few papers and get a stamped degree...so yep, I would consider where the degree was earned from.

Several people have attended WGU and as far as I know, WGU has a very good reputation and many folks earn degrees from them and not only in IT. So, the online degree options are growing and being recognized.

Bottom line, the 'where' a degree is earned from is not a deal breaker in my book, unless it is from some place with a history of being a paper mill. If I have a choice, I would attend a BNM school over online, but online is not out of the question.

Ymmv

ajs1976

A number of the the PSU campus offer online classes for all or part of their programs. Look into Word Campus, PSU's online campus, and also the online BTM program at PCT.

a few years ago when I decided to go back to school to finish my BS, I chose PCTs BTM program. All the benefits of an online program but none of the stigma of being and online school.

If you don't have relevant experience there can be a difference between online (Phoenix, Strayer, WGU), state schools (SRU, CalU, IUP),and state universities (Pitt, PSU), but if you have the experence then a degree becomes just a check box unless you are talking about prestigious tech schools like Carnegie Melon, MIT, etc or top tier ivy league schools like Yale, Harvard, etc.

I have taken a number of traditional classes and term based online classes. The novelty of the classroom experience has worn off for me because the negative, time wasting experiences greatly outweigh the positive experiences that can only happen in the classroom setting. My first attempt to go back to complete a bachelors degree ended poorly because of kids (premature and then a surprise), divorce, and then finally the job from hell. As i'm gearing up for another attempt, the self-paced programs at WGU intrigue me.

Valsacar

Please don't put WGU in the same category as Phoenix... besides being online there is nothing comparable between the two (and Pheonix does do physical courses). WGU also has state school branches (WGU Texas, WGU Indiana, and I think one other).

Back on topic, I think good online programs have a bad name because of those online schools that advertise a bit too much... you know the ones, over priced and a step above a degree mill (because they, somehow, are actually accredited). This page on WGU's site has some good information that could be provided at an interview if the choice of school was questioned: Online College | WGU College Graduates | WGU Online Degree Programs

I do like a coworker of mine that made a comment about WGU not being a good school. I laughed when I found out his Masters was from Pheonix and his "PhD" from Capella.

Soliton

Honestly, from reading about WGU, I think it sounds like a great program. A non-profit online college that allows you to work as fast as you want is amazing to me, but from all I've heard, not many like it much around here.

I have been considering PSU's World Campus though. All online, but you receive a plain old degree from PSU. And I believe it's $6,700 a semester. Not too bad really.

Sirbloody

Soliton wrote: »

Honestly, from reading about WGU, I think it sounds like a great program. A non-profit online college that allows you to work as fast as you want is amazing to me, but from all I've heard, not many like it much around here.

I have been considering PSU's World Campus though. All online, but you receive a plain old degree from PSU. And I believe it's $6,700 a semester. Not too bad really.

I was doing a lot of research before I choose WGU, all the complaints I was reading about where from people who did not understand self study. WGU is a great university but not if you can't handle the responsibility of studying on your own.

rensational

I'm sure I'm in the minority on this since this site seems to have lots of WGU connections, but I would take the guesswork out of it--especially if the cost is not significantly different. I.e. I would just go to Penn State or some other classroom-based school, and preferably put my fanny in a classroom and tough out how boring it is instead of do their online stuff (though their online stuff would come in 2nd vs other less traditional online schools). I would and have taken IT classes online, but I, personally, would not get a degree online. If I were an employer, I probably would rather see a degree from a more traditional school because I know more about how they operate and what they demand, as well, but that's just me--some employers care, some don't.

cmorris14

Used to have an account here, but haven't used it in a while and can't figure out username or old email, so I created a new account to post this.

I started at Penn State's World Campus last Fall and am in my 3rd semester now. I am double majoring in Information Sciences & Technology and Security & Risk Analysis: Cybersecurity option. I transferred some credits in and plan on interning next Summer. I expect to graduate with the IST degree at the end of Fall 14. At that point, I will decide whether I want to spend another semester finishing up the SRA degree or getting an entry-level job and taking classes part-time for a few semesters until I earn the degree.

I was extremely happy with all of my professors during the Fall and Spring semesters. So far during the Summer semester, my professors have just been alright, but that could be related to the fact that I am taking gen. ed. courses now instead of IT-related courses.

Because the courses are online and you don't interact with others as much, most of the classes I have taken have had group projects. Two of the IT course projects I have done so far were actually quite cool and were very applicable to the real-world. For a Networking course, we had to design a network for a retirement community and it's attached medical clinic, meeting HIPAA standards. For a Database course, we had to write a proposal for creating a database for a company similar to Netflix, explain the database and the different roles, access, etc.

Group work can be somewhat inconvenient though depending on your group. Many of the people I have worked with (this is probably particularly true in SRA & IST majors vs. other majors) are active-duty military and they often have odd schedules. Not too hard to make it work though.

Classes are extremely flexible, which I really enjoy, and it beats the price of most B&M degrees. Let me know if you want any more info.

TeKniques

More and more traditional state colleges and universities are offering online programs to earn degrees. All things equal ... I'd wager people care more about the name of the college then if it was earned online or not. For example: Oregon State University is now offering a BS in Computer Science online ... say someone graduates and they put on their resume - BS Computer Science, Oregon State University. No one is going to care if it was online or not.

StephenOnTheGrid

My response is based on my own point of view. First I would not go to an online school if my life depended on it. In essence employers do care sometimes where you go to school. For example say you are applying for a Network Admin job and you are competing against a State School, UCLA or USC UC School applicant comparing with your online degree. Would the employer consider your online degree over the traditional schools? I guess if they want to pay less then maybe, but I highly doubt it. It's still frowned upon in some way going to an online school. May be that is why there are so many horror stories from people that have gone to those schools. Not mention the debt and bankruptcy filings that those school cause for people. The fact is there is no easy way getting through life. Sometimes you just have to work hard to compete. That's just my perspective.

You should may be think about doing more research on which school to go to. In the end you will pay either way either it's good or maybe bad. In the end it will cost money and time. You will need to make that decision on your own.

The traditional schools on-site learning has it's good and bad experience. I guess it all depends how you look at it. In my experience I've met like minded people, resources are available (not saying I couldn't google my questions and answers), and the cost if way less compared to a for-profit schools. A practical diploma from college should not cost that much. I mean really getting out of college with over 40K+ in debt were in some cases you are grossing 40K yearly salary doesn't make sense for a starting point. Statistics show that a person peaks in salary in their 40's adding their cost of living having to pay back their student loans + interest will take a long time to pay off.

Well to wrap up my comments I am finishing up my last two quarters at a CA State school. So far every quarter I pay my tuition without any loans, I work 30 hours a week in I.T., and over all it's a good challenge. Last week I finished my last few GE's. That was a relief in accomplishment. How did I do it? Well my total cost for my B.S. diploma in tuition is coming out to be $3,600 dollars. Why? because I did two years of transferable credits at a junior college. Otherwise, my total cost for the diploma would have cost $7,211 in tuition for the total four years. Even if I paid $10K considering the other expenses it's still less expensive than those other schools.

If it wasn't for the Mr. Number app on my android I would still be getting harassed by those online schools when I was figuring out where I wanted to go. Now Mr. Number simply picks up and hangs up yet these online schools still do not get the hint that I am not interested.

instant000

Let me preface this post by saying that this forum is more about technical certification than technical degrees (but, if you're wanting opinions from technical professionals, you came to the right spot).

I have two "nontraditional" degrees, that most people would simply call "online".
B.S. Information Systems, American Sentinel University (National Accreditation)
M.S. Information Security and Assurance, Western Governor's University (Regional Accreditation)

I learned more about accreditation, prestige, brick/mortar vs online, and all that jazz once I tried to take my awesome (sarcasm alert!!) "nationally accredited" B.S. degree (regardless of the fact that I had about 90 credits from RA brick&mortar schools) and try to get into graduate school. I quickly found out that my options were EXTREMELY limited. (In case you don't know, National Accreditation is not as useful as Regional Accreditation, when it comes to transfer credits or admission to graduate schools.)

This is my advice:

The least frills is to get a degree from a regionally accredited, brick-and-mortar state school, whether it be online or not. If you want to avoid the online stigma but still prefer the flexibility of an onlne program, then you could complete your degree online from a brick and mortar school that is local to your area. Depending on the transfer policy at your target institution, you may be able to save a lot of money by doing a lot of classes via CLEP and/or community college, and then doing a minimal number of credits at the more well-known school to secure your "name-brand" degree at a reduced cost.

If you can get into a more prestigious school, then go for it. The only issue is that for professionals, any schooling is usually going to be performed while not quitting their day job, so they would probably want to maintain geologic proximity, even if schooling online, to avoid any "questions" about how they're working in one state but schooling in another.

As far as what to study, then computer science/engineering has a lot more overall utility in the technical realm than a basic IT degree.

If all of that is too much, use this simple chart:
Prestige over everything else
Brick-and-Mortar over Online
Brick-and-Mortar Online over Pure Online
Regional Accreditation over National Accreditation
Non-Profit over For-Profit
Computer Science over IT

Hope this helps!

instant000

StephenOnTheGrid brought up a very valid point.

All online schools tend to get lumped together with the bad behaving ones.

While many online schools are not diploma mills, over-priced, or easy, the bad ones do spoil it for the good ones.

It's kind of like an omelet, where you throw a few rotten eggs in. I'm of the mind type where I can see how it is just another elaborate scheme of people selling over-priced education and getting people to take out student loans. Overwhelmingly, for-profit students default on student loans.

First Official Three-Year Student Loan Default Rates Published | U.S. Department of Education

Oh well. It is what it is.

Reduce funding to public schools, while at the same time diverting federal funds (in the form of loans) to private institutions that run schools. Somebody's laughing all the way to the bank with a pocket full of tax dollars.

Despite dismal outcomes and high defaults, for-profit colleges enroll between 10 and 13 percent of students but receive 25 percent of all federal financial aid dollars. In 2009-10, this amounted to 25 percent of the total Department of Education student aid program funds.

For-Profit Colleges

Oh well, hope this information helps.

SteveLord

^ I covered my eyes and guessed Kaplan, UTI, ITT and Devry before looking at this. And of course, where I got my worthless diploma...Lincoln Tech.

I have both Kaplan and ITT within 15 minutes of where I live alone. Going to share this.

Valsacar

StephenOnTheGrid wrote: »

My response is based on my own point of view. First I would not go to an online school if my life depended on it. In essence employers do care sometimes where you go to school. For example say you are applying for a Network Admin job and you are competing against a State School, UCLA or USC UC School applicant comparing with your online degree. Would the employer consider your online degree over the traditional schools? I guess if they want to pay less then maybe, but I highly doubt it. It's still frowned upon in some way going to an online school. May be that is why there are so many horror stories from people that have gone to those schools. Not mention the debt and bankruptcy filings that those school cause for people. The fact is there is no easy way getting through life. Sometimes you just have to work hard to compete. That's just my perspective.

Please do not compare real schools to those over-priced degree mills. Online is just a medium, what matters is what you learn and what you can prove to an employer. The OP specifically mentioned WGU, which is a real school where you will learn and not be paying it back for the rest of your life.

StephenOnTheGrid

Valsacar wrote: »

Please do not compare real schools to those over-priced degree mills. Online is just a medium, what matters is what you learn and what you can prove to an employer. The OP specifically mentioned WGU, which is a real school where you will learn and not be paying it back for the rest of your life.

Are you kidding me? I wouldn't go or recommend anyone to go to a WGU even if they paid me. My time is worth much more than that. WGU is just another DeVry if you ask me. Just because you decided to go there doesnt mean it's a good path. Sorry to say man but you cant debate this argument with saying your WGU is a real school. Just because you decided to skip the regular curriculum like Math and English and get sold on taking pure electives that is your deal. You can't win this argument basing on what you just claimed above.

Submit your resume to an employer competing with a candidate that has gone to a traditional school comparing WGU listed on your resume. Let me know how that turns out. Just saying...

Master Of Puppets

I know many people here value WGU and on-line education a lot but I just wouldn't do it. IMHO, nothing can come close to the real deal. Most degrees, nowadays, allow you to do the on-line thing as well as the in person classes for more convenience and additional study material. I used to have a very negative opinion of schools like WGU but reading so much about it here, I realized it is not that bad at all. I would just never do it if I had another option. Now, it is a totally different situation if you have a job, family and so on. In that case you don't have another alternative and it would be great. In the end what matters is that you learn a lot of stuff and have a nice degree on the resume.

boredgamelad

StephenOnTheGrid wrote: »

Are you kidding me? I wouldn't go or recommend anyone to go to a WGU even if they paid me. My time is worth much more than that. WGU is just another DeVry if you ask me. Just because you decided to go there doesnt mean it's a good path. Sorry to say man but you cant debate this argument with saying your WGU is a real school. Just because you decided to skip the regular curriculum like Math and English and get sold on taking pure electives that is your deal. You can't win this argument basing on what you just claimed above.

Submit your resume to an employer competing with a candidate that has gone to a traditional school comparing WGU listed on your resume. Let me know how that turns out. Just saying...

There's no reason to be insufferable. There are plenty of people on this forum who have gone to WGU and gone on to achieve success. Just because you don't understand that doesn't give you license to talk like this to people. You should learn some humility.

StephenOnTheGrid

Im just speaking for myself pal. Thats great and good for them or may be you for choosing wgu (lol). Here is were you and many others cannot read between the lines as to what the discussion is talking about. The title of the thread was asking online vs regular also known as traditional college diplomas. Sorry for busting the bubbles that wgu isnt a real school like a State, Stanford, CAL, or UC school. Those are reputable schools. Comparing WGU as a real school is a joke. It's a trade school. That as simple as it gets. These trade schools do not produce real diploma's. These schools are certificates in trade calling them undergraduate and graduate degree's. So when someone wonders why the other person is laughing at their resume displaying an online degree from a for-profit school calling it a Bachelor's then don't be so surprised as to why is the person laughing flat face on the ground.

Ultimately it comes down to what instant000 was saying if it's accredited or not it should a question asked and answered by the person seeking a higher level of education; otherwise when it comes to wanting to transfer to a accredited school(s) the units are worthless trying to transfer. Those are just the facts when it comes to college education.

Stephen

boredgamelad

Nothing you said is true about WGU. Congratulations on being yet another misinformed naysayer.

StephenOnTheGrid

hmmm awesome you mean if I go to western governors university my BS will have quote below as part of my undergraduate diploma?:

What You’ll Earn — IT Certifications:

This program incorporates 13 industry recognized IT certifications as part of your degree program. You will study for and complete the following certification exams (which are all included in your tuition—a huge cost savings for you):

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA)
CIW Web Foundations Associate
CIW Web Design Specialist
CIW JavaScript Specialist
CompTIA A+
CompTIA Project+
CompTIA Security+
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): Windows 7, Configuration
Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician (CCENT)
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA®)
Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Windows OS Fundamentals
Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Networking Fundamentals
Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Security Fundamentals

Note: Your IT certifications may waive some degree requirements. Click here to see what IT certifications may transfer to WGU.

These certs can be picked up without having to go to a school, well at least for me. These certs are toppings to a diploma they are not the accredited units.

Here is what a real school looks like:
http://see.stanford.edu/see/lecturelist.aspx?coll=824a47e1-135f-4508-a5aa-866adcae1111

ramrunner800

You can't lump in a UC/State school with the likes of Stanford either. My ex-girlfriend went to Stanford, and she and her friends were getting hired by consulting firms to go work for the mid $100k's, jobs regular college grads won't even get a shot at.

I do think you're correct that in a straight head to head competition between a WGU grad and a traditional BNM grad where all other things are equal, the traditional degree will win out. That head to head shoot out will never really happen though. In my experience for the majority of people in the workforce, where their degree comes from doesn't matter a lick once they've had their first job. I work with a bunch of no degree high school graduates who are making 90-100k w/ 10 years of experience.

Full disclosure: I have a bachelors from a traditional large state school, and I'm currently enrolled getting my master's at that same school. For so many people in the work force today, WGU is a great option, as pretty much all that matters is that you actually HAVE a degree.

Zorodzai

It applies to both online and B&M colleges - some are good, some are really really bad ! Do your research and choose what's best for you. I am enrolled in a distance learning program with UoL: University of London International Programmes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (only reason I won't call it online because the university do not refer to themselves as 'online' ) and that is highly regarded in my neck of the woods. The subject of online vs B&M tends to evoke a lot of emotion - IMHO anyone interested in studying should do their research and due diligence checks before selecting either option. I chose distance education because that works for me; there are many people here who have studied via WGU etc and are successful in their careers. In as much as I would probably benefit from the classroom experience fact is that's no real reflection of the real world and, that, IMO is more important

Arysta

If you're young and have no experience or no job, I say definitely go to a "regular" college. You'll get a lot out of it. If you're older with a busy life and/or have experience in the field and already have a job in IT, something like WGU might be better suited for you. Once you start to get like 5+ years, no one really cares where you got your schooling because real life experience very, very much trumps any sort of formal training. However, many promotion opportunities require a bachelor's degree. If you're looking for an in-house promotion, they usually don't care where it's from or even what field it's in because you have that experience. It's stupid, but it is what it is.

beantownmp

My Dad's school can beat up your Dad's school.

Polynomial

instant000 wrote: »

The least frills is to get a degree from a regionally accredited, brick-and-mortar state school, whether it be online or not. If you want to avoid the online stigma but still prefer the flexibility of an onlne program, then you could complete your degree online from a brick and mortar school that is local to your area.

This is my current strategy and I really do believe its a power play. Two master degrees from a name recognized local school followed up by a physically attended MBA. My gut feeling really tells me this is going to "work".

Also, the stigma of online education isn't going away, its already gone. The excitement for edX and Coursera around higher ed is really high and professors and professional staff alike are jumping right into it.

instant000

One study found, "In the corporate world, marketing budgets typically represent between 4-12 percent of sales," and in the for-profit education sector, "marketing budgets can approach a whopping 40 percent of tuition revenue."

In contrast, the study found that nonprofit colleges and universities spend an average of one-half of one percent of their revenues on marketing.

Hagan, Harkin Work to Protect Taxpayer Investment in Students | Kay Hagan | U.S. Senator for North Carolina

So, the data says that the ones who are the worst offenders are also the biggest advertisers. If the bad school is advertising 80 times as much as the good school, you're going to hear a lot about the bad schools, which perpetuates the image.

The point that we can all agree on is that online has an overwhelmingly negative connotation. That is the entire reason we're having this conversation. Based on the data points above, it is readily apparent why.

P.S.: The link to the "real school" was for "Stanford Engineering Everywhere," which is an online portal. Am I the only one giggling at the irony?

What is Stanford Engineering Everywhere?
Stanford Engineering Everywhere is an online portal

Stanford School of Engineering - Stanford Engineering Everywhere

This is just something funny to point out. We're aware that "real" schools teach "online".

P.P.S: Let's all be friends. I plan to get schooling in the future, and it will likely be from a non-traditional "evening" or
"online" program of a "real" school. I also plan to take advantage of free "online" courses for non-credit, just to learn some new things. We have a thread on here where someone was looking for B&M schools that offered online courses, because they wanted the convenience of online learning, without the attached stigma. I really don't have a problem with that. I see it as smart planning.

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

As I've said before, I'm a big proponent in finding a known school in your region and seeing what they offer for online degrees vs going to online-only schools with no name recognition.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/53985-master-list-b-m-colleges-offering-online-degrees.html

There's a website that can provide a handy engine to search similarly (it's not all-inclusive).

GetEducated.com | Review, Rate, Rank & Compare Online Colleges & Degrees

I still stick by my earlier reasoning, though, that a prudent path would be finding the target school and confirming rules of transfer. Then, gaining lower credits at a community college/CLEP/whatever most affordably, then transferring into the name-brand program to complete the degree. (The degree shows where you graduated from, not that you went to three different lower schools to get the requirements.) Some programs accept up to 60 transfer credits, and some 90+. A couple great forums to get a little more educated about non-traditonal paths to higher education are the following:

DegreeInfo Distance Learning - online degree forum - The Front Page
CLEP Forum - CLEP Study - CLEP Testing - Study Guide and Strategies

Hope this helps.

krjay

I got a little bit curious after reading this thread for a couple days and talked to the only two people I know that are hiring managers in the IT world. One was a part time professor during my last year of college in 2012 that works for an IT firm in the area that I still keep in touch with (another B&M benefit I suppose) and the other my current boss. There are some lesser known universities in Michigan namely Wayne State and Oakland University in the metro Detroit area. I asked them how they would compare two people with the exact same experience but one coming from Oakland University and the other from WGU. I was a bit surprised by their responses:

1. Neither of them has heard of WGU.
2. They both had extremely negative opinions of online universities (both mentioned Phoenix and the negative views they had with that institution)
3. They would hire the guy from Oakland without question

Their tone came across as if we were comparing Stanford to a community college. Obviously the sample size is small here, but with the small amount of contacts I have in my circle early in my professional career, I'm glad I went to a B&M.

TeKniques

StephenOnTheGrid wrote: »

Im just speaking for myself pal. Thats great and good for them or may be you for choosing wgu (lol). Here is were you and many others cannot read between the lines as to what the discussion is talking about. The title of the thread was asking online vs regular also known as traditional college diplomas. Sorry for busting the bubbles that wgu isnt a real school like a State, Stanford, CAL, or UC school. Those are reputable schools. Comparing WGU as a real school is a joke. It's a trade school. That as simple as it gets. These trade schools do not produce real diploma's. These schools are certificates in trade calling them undergraduate and graduate degree's. So when someone wonders why the other person is laughing at their resume displaying an online degree from a for-profit school calling it a Bachelor's then don't be so surprised as to why is the person laughing flat face on the ground.

This whole diatribe is full of lies. WGU is a regionally accredited university and the degrees hold up as such. Why such the negativity about this school? This is not something like ITT, UoP, or other 'for-profit' colleges that you describe.

I find it kind of amusing how people make it sound like attending a traditional B&M school offers such a better education then an online one. Fact is, a lot of these B&M institutions are offering many of their degrees online now. Does that devalue the degree because it was earned online? You still have to take the same courses and learn the material. It really comes down to commitment and how much you put into your education.

StephenOnTheGrid wrote: »

Ultimately it comes down to what instant000 was saying if it's accredited or not it should a question asked and answered by the person seeking a higher level of education; otherwise when it comes to wanting to transfer to a accredited school(s) the units are worthless trying to transfer. Those are just the facts when it comes to college education.

Stephen

Right ... exactly what WGU is -- a regionally accredited university. People won't have much trouble transferring their bachelors to another school for a graduate program.

Zorodzai

@krjay - would be intereting if you were to ask them which of the two they would hire if the Oakland graduate had two years of experience and the WGU graduate had 5. Reason I have not put the levels of experience at par is that generally, in my experience at least, people who learn via distance learning (online education being one form) normally are either already working and want to 'better' their education or are working and want to be more competitive. From personal experience though I'd say if one is still fresh out of high school etc then B&M is the recommended way to go - the 'classroom' aspect of college is just one of the things one learns in college; there's a whole lot of other activities that help one 'grow up' and prepare for adulthood/working life. If one is already in the workforce then distance learning allows one to add to their qualifications without a break in their career. In my line of work I can't really take off 3 years to go back to school (assuming I could even afford it), that gap would probably mean I have to start the climb somewhere near the bottom on my return to the workforce....

StephenOnTheGrid

TeKniques wrote: »

This whole diatribe is full of lies. WGU is a regionally accredited university and the degrees hold up as such. Why such the negativity about this school? This is not something like ITT, UoP, or other 'for-profit' colleges that you describe.

I find it kind of amusing how people make it sound like attending a traditional B&M school offers such a better education then an online one. Fact is, a lot of these B&M institutions are offering many of their degrees online now. Does that devalue the degree because it was earned online? You still have to take the same courses and learn the material. It really comes down to commitment and how much you put into your education.

Right ... exactly what WGU is -- a regionally accredited university. People won't have much trouble transferring their bachelors to another school for a graduate program.

hmmm okay what will be transferable coming from a place called Western Governors? College Algebra? English 1? The name itself sounds like a joke. It sounds like one of those get rich quick schemes schools. More than anything it's an embarrassment you trying to say this school is up there in the awesome category.