Skip to main content

Are online degrees valid to prospective employers?

online degree, employee, valid online degree, distance learning, career
By Rose Musyoka


 Online distance learning has gained rapid popularity with the advent of the internet, which has proven to offer great supporting facilities and convenience for online education. However, just like everything else with pros and cons, the internet has also opened doors for the widespread sale of bogus online degrees. According a report by USA Today, there were already 400 diploma mills in the year 2003 and the numbers are rising. In fact, many of these unscrupulous operations are run by organizations in an industry that is worth $500 million a year.

However, amidst the negative hype about online education, there are actually many distance learning colleges offering valid degrees and diplomas. These institutions do not sell bogus certificates, but actually aim to provide quality education as alternatives for on-campus higher education. Valid online courses with online video lectures as well as online library facilities and test examinations conducted are often deployed to ensure that students truly qualify in their areas of study and graduate legitimately. Sadly though, many employers only see the negative side of things, and easily brush off online education degrees as equivalent to bogus degrees.


In view of the confusion, the National Education Board of the U.S. government has authorized 6 accreditation agencies to provide institutional accreditation to education institutions, as a measure to differentiate legitimate universities from the crooks. This means that students choosing their universities will be assured that these universities would have met minimum criteria set forth by these agencies for learning institutions.

Additionally, there is also The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) which provides accreditation specifically for distance learning institutions. The DETC is an accreditation agency that is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Furthermore, there is also specialized accreditation for specific programs of different areas of specialization. These programs which are found to have attained excellence will be awarded accreditation by various professional accrediting agencies depending on the area of specialization. For instance, the International Association for Management Education (AACSB) gives accreditation to accounting related programs while health programs are accredited by the American Health Information Management Association. It is also important to know that only accreditation agencies recognized by the Department of Education or CHEA are considered accreditation agencies which are acknowledged.
What does accreditation mean to a student? An institutional accreditation agency evaluates the various aspects of universities or colleges against minimum standard criteria to determine if the particular institution meets their list of basic requirements. College accreditation is necessary to ensure that the education, facilities and support provided by a college or university adheres to basic levels. On the other hand, specialized accreditation evaluates excellence in individual program regardless of which institution the program is being delivered within. In this type of accreditation, course content and program curricula is evaluated against pre-set standards of the institution.

All accreditation does is to assure employers, students and parents that the graduates who are awarded degrees from accredited colleges have undergone adequate training in their respective areas of specialization. This also means that colleges that are not accredited by the proper accreditation body would not have met the standards imposed by the agencies. However, courses taken by prospective employees that are accredited by the respective agencies would have met standards imposed on the respective specialized areas.

It is totally up to the judgment and decision of the employers on evaluating the validity of an online or on-campus degree. With the recent hike in bogus degrees, employers can’t help but be stringent in their applicant screenings and consider those with degrees that have been accredited. This may prove tedious and sometimes employers may get confused. Therefore, if your accreditation is provided by an agency recognized by the US Department of Education, then you will need to explain to prospective employers on the background of the accrediting bodies. This way, you can avoid employers from sidelining your application based on something that they may be unclear about and increase your chances of being short listed for a job interview.
Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
Good good good......
11:43
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daya Tarik Gimmick Capres versus Visi Misi & Pengaruhnya untuk pemenangan Pilpres 2024

 Belakangan ini kampanye calon presiden Indonesia dihebohkan dengan gimik gemoy dari Prabowo Subianto, yang biasanya dikaitkan dengan gaya Prabowo saat berpidato, bahkan muncul lagi ketika Prabowo sedang berdebat dengan Ganjar Pranowo dan Anies Baswedan, yaitu berjoget gaya gemoy pada debat perdana yang diselenggarakan oleh Komisi Pemilihan Umum.  Sementara itu Ganjar Pranowo juga punya gimik yang berbeda, begitu pula Anies Baswedan. Lalu apa pengaruh gimik dari seorang kandidat presiden, dan bagaimana pengaruhnya pada para calon pemilih?  Pengaruh gimik atau gimmick dari pasangan calon presiden Indonesia 2024 versus visi misi dari masin-masing pasangan calon antara Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Mahfud dan Anies Cak Imin dalam pengaruhnya untuk memenangkan pemilu presiden 2024 masih belum bisa dipastikan. Namun, ada beberapa faktor yang bisa menjadi pertimbangan dalam menilai pengaruh masing-masing faktor tersebut. Prabowo Subianto menunjukkan gaya atau gimmick yang mengundang perhatian Gan
Post a Comment
Read more

Membongkar Kebijakan Infrastruktur Jokowi: Apa yang Telah Dicapai dan Masih Dibutuhkan?

  Presiden Joko Widodo atau terkenal dengan sapaan Jokowi, lahir pada tanggal 21 Juni 1961 di Surakarta, Jawa Tengah. Sebelum menjabat sebagai Presiden, Jokowi pernah menjabat sebagai Wali Kota Solo dari tahun 2005 hingga 2012 dan Gubernur DKI Jakarta dari tahun 2012 hingga 2014. Jokowi juga merupakan salah satu pengusaha sukses yang memiliki bisnis mebel dan tekstil sebelum terjun ke dunia politik. Jokowi terpilih pertama kali sebagai Presiden Republik Indonesia pada tahun 2014 dengan meraih 53,15% suara dari total jumlah pemilih. Ia kemudian terpilih kembali sebagai Presiden pada Pemilu 2019 dengan perolehan suara sebesar 55,5%.  Selain pembangunan infrastruktur yang masif, Presiden Jokowi juga dikritik karena melanjutkan pembangunan IKN, Ibukota Nusantara (Image: banggai.pikiran-rakyat.com) Sejak periode pertama memerintah Presiden Jokowi telah mengimplementasikan berbagai program prioritas seperti pembangunan infrastruktur, pembenahan birokrasi, pembenahan dan peningkatan investasi
Post a Comment
Read more

Mengulik Rekam Jejak Ganjar Pranowo, Prabowo & Anies Baswedan Sebelum Pilpres 2024

 Sebelum menentukan pilihan calon presiden yang paling tepat, adalah penting untuk mengulik siapa dan bagaimana para bakal calon presiden yang akan berlaga pada Pilpres 2024 mendatang, baik Ganjar Pranowo, Prabowo Subianto maupun Anies Baswedan. Siapa di antara mereka yang paling pantas dan punya rekam jejak yang paling mumpuni untuk menjadi Presiden Indonesia, penerus Presiden Joko Widodo? (Image: lingkar.co) Rekam jejak Ganjar Pranowo dibidang politik: Ganjar Pranowo memulai karier politiknya sebagai anggota DPRD Kabupaten Wonosobo pada tahun 1998. Ia kemudian terpilih sebagai anggota DPR RI pada tahun 2004, 2009, dan 2014. Pada tahun 2013, Ganjar terpilih sebagai Gubernur Jawa Tengah dan kembali terpilih untuk periode kedua pada tahun 2018. Selama menjabat sebagai Gubernur Jawa Tengah, Ganjar dikenal sebagai sosok yang dekat dengan rakyat dan memiliki banyak program unggulan, seperti program "Petani Milenial", "Jateng Gayeng", dan "Beasiswa Jateng Hebat"
Post a Comment
Read more