$10,000 Degrees in Texas

[rebel100]

I could have worded it better, but everyone will know that you did not go through the same admissions process as other Harvard students. If you did, your degree would have come from Harvard College. The fact that the extension school is the only one that accepts CLEPs makes it even more different from the rest of Harvard University. Penn State makes no distinction between its online and on campus programs. It's just me personally, but I'd rather earn my degree by distance at a school that accepts me as an equal and I wouldn't have to deal with accusations that I'm trying to pass off a Harvard extension school degree as being as prestigious as a Harvard College degree.

Sounds like your more motivated by the perception of strangers than the quality of your own education. I just don't see things this way. I've witnessed firsthand the quality fundamental education offered by HES. I see the value that's being imparted. HES isn't for everyone...but its a great place for a select few. (BTW, admittance to the degree program is self selective...but far from easy or "open" admissions. HES is different no doubt about that).

[sanantone]

Sounds like your more motivated by the perception of strangers than the quality of your own education. I just don't see things this way. I've witnessed firsthand the quality fundamental education offered by HES. I see the value that's being imparted. HES isn't for everyone...but its a great place for a select few. (BTW, admittance to the degree program is self selective...but far from easy or "open" admissions. HES is different no doubt about that).

Not really. I think a good part of rankings have to do with perception, not actual differences in educational quality. I do believe that many schools are better than others, but I really don't think there is much of a difference between the top 50 schools. The more selective schools are obviously going to have more successful graduates because they admit more intelligent and ambitious people in the first place.

I'm most motivated by cost. I think I got a good education for $11,000 at Angelo State University. It was the only graduate school I applied to because it was the cheapest. I could have applied to more prestigious schools. I also could have finished my bachelor's degree at a Texas university with more name recognition, but I chose TESC to save time and money. No matter which school I've attended, I have always educated myself anyway. I don't do well with listening to instructors. But other people's perceptions are important. I always say that UoP may or may not provide a decent education, but employers' perceptions of the school could hurt your chances of getting a job.

[Yanji]

Sounds like your more motivated by the perception of strangers than the quality of your own education. I just don't see things this way. I've witnessed firsthand the quality fundamental education offered by HES. I see the value that's being imparted. HES isn't for everyone...but its a great place for a select few. (BTW, admittance to the degree program is self selective...but far from easy or "open" admissions. HES is different no doubt about that).

HES is not really special or unique. There are plenty of other top schools with evening/online degree-granting divisions/colleges including Penn LPS, Northwestern SCS, Stanford SCPD and if you want to stretch your definition of top school a bit, NYU SCPS and BU Metropolitan College. Some of these schools are good for not-so-old local students who did respectably but fell off the horse during their undergrad career (Penn LPS, HES, NYU SCPS) while others are more for p/t masters degrees. (Northwestern SCS, Stanford SCPD) I know someone who did their undergrad from Penn LPS after dropping out of another school after 3 semesters and they know very well that they didn't get the same degree as a regular Penn student. However, the local alternatives were Drexel, Temple and Rutgers Camden... all of which are a far cry from even LPS, so he got a degree which worked for him. I've noticed that many (non-Harvard) HES instructors are professors by day at one of Boston's other universities such as BU, Brandeis and Northeastern, so you can pretty much be assured that you will get a Tier 1 university education out of HES, which is probably still better than UMass Boston or night school at Northeastern. In this regard, HES (along with LPS, et al.) is fantastic because it makes great faculty accessible at all hours. However, I don't think undergraduate students should do themselves the disservice of going to HES when a good "regular" school is an option.

I thoroughly researched this issue. World Campus does not confer degrees, so you should not put it on your resume or anything else. It will not be listed on your transcript or diploma. Your degree will be conferred by the campus that houses the department of your degree. It could be University Park or it could be another campus.

Penn State World is run largely separately from University Park and their other campuses but they do not have their own accreditation and degrees are granted by University Park, and perhaps by a few other campuses as well. Their online business programmes are offered through Smeal, which is pretty good as far as business schools go and excellent when it comes to supply chain management.