Online degrees

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The term online degrees refers to college degrees (sometimes including 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’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees to students.

Perceived Quality of Online Degrees

The recognition of the quality of online degrees compared to on-campus degrees varies. While most major online colleges are regionally accredited, the public perception of their quality is in dispute. 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 percent 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. 41%, 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 distance education in the U.S. In its 2006 report "Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006," it stated that "[i]n 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.

Prevalence of Online Education

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted a distance education study based on the 2001-2002 academic year at 2-year and 4-year Title IV (Federal Student Aid)-eligible, degree-granting institutions. The study reported that 56 percent of all institutions surveyed offered distance education courses. The study also found that public institutions were more likely to offer distance education than were private institutions.[5]

The Sloan Consortium, based on data collected from over 2,200 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.

Master of Business Administration

The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging as the country industrialized and companies sought out scientific approaches to management. The first American business school, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, was established in 1881, 62 years after ESCP-EAP was established in 1819 in Paris. The Tuck School of Business, part of Dartmouth College, was the first graduate school of management in the United States. Founded in 1900, it was the first institution conferring advanced degrees (masters) in the commercial sciences, the forebearer of the modern MBA. Founded in 1898, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, the second oldest U.S. business school, was the first graduate school in 1940 to offer working professionals the Executive MBA (EMBA) program, a mainstay at most business schools today.

As the U.S. MBA model emerged at the turn of the 20th century, Europeans developed such business schools as Webster Graduate School at Regent's College, London; elsewhere colleges such as Cass Business School, London, IMD, SIBM,MBA-HSG, Instituto de Empresa, INSEAD, Henley Management College, Cranfield School of Management, and Ashridge were established for management training. In 1950 the first MBA degrees were awarded outside the United States by the University of Western Ontario in Canada,^[1] followed in 1951 with the degree awarded across the Atlantic by the University of Pretoria in South Africa.^[2]

In 1957, INSEAD became the first European university offering the MBA degree, followed in 1964 by IESE (first two-year program in Europe), in 1967 by the Cranfield School of Management and in 1969 by the HEC School of Management (in French, the École des Hautes Études Commerciales) and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. In 1968, the Asian Institute of Management was founded.

The MBA degree has been adopted by universities worldwide, and all six habitable continents have universities offering MBA programs.

In Europe, the recent Bologna Accord established uniformity in three levels of higher education: Bachelor (three years), Masters (five years), and Doctorate (eight years). Students can acquire professional experience after their initial bachelor degree at any European institution and later complete their masters in any other European institution via the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System. A European masters degree in Management is therefore equivalent to the American MBA having additional scientific content; for example, a European master of science in management requires writing and defending a master's thesis.

Financial Aid

Until recently, students enrolled in online degree programs were ineligible 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).^[7] In February 2006, that law was repealed and now federal student aid in the form of federal loans, grants, and work-study is available in the U.S. for students enrolled in an eligible online degree program at an accredited Title IV-eligible institution.

Prevalence of Online Education

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted a distance education study based on the 2001-2002 academic year at 2-year and 4-year Title IV (Federal Student Aid)-eligible, degree-granting institutions. The study reported that 56 percent of all 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 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.

Accreditation

he goal of accreditation, according to the U.S. Department of Education, is to ensure that programs provided by institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality. In the area of online education, it is important to avoid diploma mills that offer fake degrees at a cost. Students seeking valid online degrees should obtain proof of accreditation from a regional or national/specialized 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.[2]

Each of the six geographic regions of the United States has a non-governmental, regional agency that oversees and accredits degree-granting institutions headquartered in their areas. There are six regional accreditation boards:

• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• Western Association of Schools & Colleges

The 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.

[edit] Perceived Quality of Online Degrees

The recognition of the quality of online degrees compared to on-campus degrees varies. While most major online colleges are regionally accredited, the public perception of their quality is in dispute. 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.^[1]

A survey by the Distance Education and Training Council found that 100 percent 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. 41%, 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 distance education in the U.S. In its 2006 report "Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006," it stated that "[i]n 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.

Online degrees

The term online degrees refers to college degrees (sometimes including 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’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees to students.