Do universities and employers discriminate against people with an online degree?

[Kev]

I'm planning on getting a BA in English (at TESU), to be able to work abroad as an English teacher. Once I start teaching at a public school, I then want to get the PGCEi at Nottingham University, so that I can apply at higher-paying/private schools. While the requirements for the PGCEi aren't unreasonable, the program does have standards regarding who is accepted, and while qualifications and experience don't worry me, I am worried that I will be discriminated against due to having an online degree—and equally important, discriminated against by employers.

• Do universities, US and other countries, discriminate against people with an online degree (who apply for a certificate, master's or doctorate)?
  
• Do employers—especially private/international teaching schools—discriminate against people who have an online degree?
  

[dfrecore]

Many times, there is no way to know that you have an online degree. Nothing on the transcript or degree says "online." It may be obvious if you get a degree from a school far from where you live, but they would have to look at the school location, and your location, and figure out that you didn't live there when getting a degree, which many people don't do.

Also, if you got a lot of your courses from B&M schools, and transferred to an online school later to finish up - that's not terrible.

I'm getting my degree online, and am not worried at all about it.

[cookderosa]

This is an interesting question. You're asking a group of people who do not/have not attended the school you're targeting- in another country- if we can predict how their adcom will evaluate your degree. No one can do that- so that's the wrong question.

Your degree from TESU will contain exactly what you fill it with- so if you take classes or tests, it's up to you. I often read people's questions who ask about not having a TESU GPA. The only reason you'd not have a TESU GPA is if you don't take classes there- I took classes there, I have a GPA. In other words, you're in the driver's seat. You can take your classes butt-in-seat if you want (locally) and transfer them in- if you complete your degree using online classes, that's also your decision.

TESU is a regionally accredited state college, non-for-profit, and 100% legit. There is absolutely nothing shady about the college. That said, getting into a competitive graduate program will require a lot of preliminary work on your part- including researching any prerequisites the college has, and making a plan to check those boxes.

Can you get into grad school? Of course. Can you get into THAT grad school? Who knows.

[Kev]

This is an interesting question.  You're asking a group of people who do not/have not attended the school you're targeting- in another country- if we can predict how their adcom will evaluate your degree.  No one can do that- so that's the wrong question.

Your degree from TESU will contain exactly what you fill it with- so if you take classes or tests, it's up to you.  I often read people's questions who ask about not having a TESU GPA.  The only reason you'd not have a TESU GPA is if you don't take classes there- I took classes there, I have a GPA.  In other words, you're in the driver's seat. You can take your classes butt-in-seat if you want (locally) and transfer them in- if you complete your degree using online classes, that's also your decision.  

TESU is a regionally accredited state college, non-for-profit, and 100% legit.  There is absolutely nothing shady about the college.  That said, getting into a competitive graduate program will require a lot of preliminary work on your part- including researching any prerequisites the college has, and making a plan to check those boxes.  

Can you get into grad school?  Of course.  Can you get into THAT grad school? Who knows.

Hi Jennifer,

I agree asking this wouldn't make much sense, however, this wasn't my question at all, but simply an introduction to give a basic overview of my planning and goals.

Like most things, and especially for something that would take nearly a year to complete, as well as cost $6000+, I believe knowing if this will be useful is important. I am worried that an online degree will be badly perceived and thought that it would be good to ask for advice to know if there is some truth to my worries or if it is simply a worry and nothing more.

What I would like to know is people's opinion and experience with applying to jobs or certificate/graduate programs with an online degree, to give a better and more accurate idea of the situation.

[sanantone]

This is an interesting question.  You're asking a group of people who do not/have not attended the school you're targeting- in another country- if we can predict how their adcom will evaluate your degree.  No one can do that- so that's the wrong question.

Your degree from TESU will contain exactly what you fill it with- so if you take classes or tests, it's up to you.  I often read people's questions who ask about not having a TESU GPA.  The only reason you'd not have a TESU GPA is if you don't take classes there- I took classes there, I have a GPA.  In other words, you're in the driver's seat. You can take your classes butt-in-seat if you want (locally) and transfer them in- if you complete your degree using online classes, that's also your decision.  

TESU is a regionally accredited state college, non-for-profit, and 100% legit.  There is absolutely nothing shady about the college.  That said, getting into a competitive graduate program will require a lot of preliminary work on your part- including researching any prerequisites the college has, and making a plan to check those boxes.  

Can you get into grad school?  Of course.  Can you get into THAT grad school? Who knows.

Hi Jennifer,

I agree asking this wouldn't make much sense, however, this wasn't my question at all, but simply an introduction to give a basic overview of my planning and goals.

Like most things, and especially for something that would take nearly a year to complete, as well as cost $6000+, I believe knowing if this will be useful is important. I am worried that an online degree will be badly perceived and thought that it would be good to ask for advice to know if there is some truth to my worries or if it is simply a worry and nothing more.

What I would like to know is people's opinion and experience with applying to jobs or certificate/graduate programs with an online degree, to give a better and more accurate idea of the situation.

There's no way to answer this question anecdotally because many people send hundreds of applications and resumes and don't receive responses for various, unknown reasons. There are surveys on how employers view online degrees, but these assume that employers are correct when guessing whether a degree was completed online or not. It would be interesting to see the results of an experiment where researchers send out resumes with identical qualifications but with the school name changed. This is how they detected discrimination against African American-sounding names.

[High_Order1]

Well

I've spent the last five years working for police departments at community colleges and universities in my region, and I've applied for a ton of jobs in my almost-fifty years of age.

In my limited opinion, the answer is, yes. Some people and places DO look down at online school grads.

Outside academia, employers only seem to know a handful of colleges, and the rest fall in a grey area. Have a decent answer when they ask you about it in the interview.

Inside academia... it's a whole other world. Credentials are their lives. They look down on associates, but they ABSOLUTELY look down on people with no degrees. (Part of why I started this journey was after one particular event with a decidedly sour doctorate...)

Everywhere I go, I hear people talking crap about online degrees. Most when pressed do it because they are ignorant of what's been going on with education the last five-ten years. The internet puts a hurt on traditional schooling. But there are a lot of people that associate online / distance education with 'diploma mills'.

This is the bleeding edge of education, with the other being immersive technology education. (I'm watching 'teacher in a box' and using virtual reality really take off.)

If you're concerned about name brand recognition (I kinda am), harvard and loyola both have online degree programs... lol Even then, there will be a stigma. The people that had to spend years slugging it out in classrooms sometimes hold a grudge towards compressed and online degreed recipients. I was at a guys' house the other day that told me, (when it happens for me) "we both may be bachelors, but I (he) earned mine the old fashioned way..."

Is what it is. Be prepared to sell your experience until general acceptance comes (and, I feel it will. These kids and their internets... lol)

[keepsingin]

I'd suggest for the OP to go to LinkedIn and look up alumni and fellow students of your school to see what kind of jobs they've landed, what grad schools they've attended, and so forth. You can even narrow the search to find those with a specific degree. Of course, factors like the recession, career path, and other things come into play as to when grads land that dream job, but overall, I think it's a pretty helpful gauge.

Nine years ago when my sibling was getting an online bachelors, this question of credibility and/or discrimination was a lot more of an actual consideration. Today, he and all the classmates he knew have jobs that they "shouldn't have" according to the statistics and facts thrown around back then lol. One of those students got a full scholarship to Harvard Law. So I'm a big proponent of the idea that if you have enough gumption, you can overcome any of those stigmas and get your foot in just about anywhere.

[Ideas]

I've heard that a lot of foreign companies need English teachers badly and don't really care where you went, as long as you have the minimum qualification. Many of them don't even require a Bachelor's, just TESOL certificate. But it will depend on what country you want to work in I'm sure. I'm sure some companies have plenty of applicants.

Since you want to work for a private school, you really need to find out how much those private school(s) in that country care about the Bachelor's.

Even if they're ok with an online school, they might care if you have no GPA, or no GPA for some core classes.

[davewill]

One of the nice things about the Big3 is that 90% of people you deal with will have no idea they specialize in distance education. I don't make a big deal of it, and respond with enthusiasm when I do talk about my degree. If someone wants to look down their nose in the face of my pride, so be it... I'm still proud of my achievement.

[Life Long Learning]

Well

I've spent the last five years working for police departments at community colleges and universities in my region, and I've applied for a ton of jobs in my almost-fifty years of age.

In my limited opinion, the answer is, yes. Some people and places DO look down at online school grads.

Outside academia, employers only seem to know a handful of colleges, and the rest fall in a grey area. Have a decent answer when they ask you about it in the interview.

Inside academia... it's a whole other world. Credentials are their lives. They look down on associates, but they ABSOLUTELY look down on people with no degrees. (Part of why I started this journey was after one particular event with a decidedly sour doctorate...)

Everywhere I go, I hear people talking crap about online degrees. Most when pressed do it because they are ignorant of what's been going on with education the last five-ten years. The internet puts a hurt on traditional schooling. But there are a lot of people that associate online / distance education with 'diploma mills'.

This is the bleeding edge of education, with the other being immersive technology education. (I'm watching 'teacher in a box' and using virtual reality really take off.)

If you're concerned about name brand recognition (I kinda am), harvard and loyola both have online degree programs... lol Even then, there will be a stigma. The people that had to spend years slugging it out in classrooms sometimes hold a grudge towards compressed and online degreed recipients. I was at a guys' house the other day that told me, (when it happens for me) "we both may be bachelors, but I (he) earned mine the old fashioned way..."

Is what it is. Be prepared to sell your experience until general acceptance comes (and, I feel it will. These kids and their internets... lol)

In my 30 years only once did I really know an employer did discriminate against my degree.  The FBI told me 30 years to my face no to non-traditional degrees.  Fast forward today an FBI agent was hired with an Excelsior College degree.