Don't misrepresent where you went to school.

[brodie]

If the prestige of a college matters to an employer, then they likely know the difference between a prestigious school and its extension or professional school or an entirely separate school within the same system that has lower admissions standards. Those employers do not like to be lied to or misled. You probably could have gotten the job based on your work experience if you hadn't lied or fudged the truth.

If an employer does not know the difference between the prestigious or flagship school and its offshoots, then prestige likely doesn't matter to them. Most of their employees probably graduated from non-prestigious schools.

If you went to UT - El Paso, then that is what should be on your resume. Don't just put University of Texas. If you went to Texas A&M - Commerce, don't just put Texas A&M. If you went to CSU Global Campus, then don't omit "Global Campus." If you went to Harvard Extension, then Harvard tells you how to list your degree appropriately to avoid confusion. 

Also, if you completed a non-credit certificate at Columbia, then don't tell everyone that you studied business at Columbia. Tyra Banks got herself into trouble by making people believe that she was attending Harvard Business School when it was only an executive certificate program. 

A politician also got himself into hot water when he wasn't straight forward about attending Harvard Extension. All of this came to mind because this cop tried to brag to me about getting accepted to Harvard. It turns out he went to Harvard Extension which does not have competitive admission. He was just trying to make it seem like he was better than me because we don't exactly get along. Nice try. I know the difference. 

As somebody who has personally on-boarded somebody claiming an HES degree as a HGSAS degree, I can tell you that this is pure bullwack. What a complete waste of time and energy her fraud was. I wasted a ton of time looking into the issue. Harvard’s own standards have always made it clear to grads that their HES degree is not a Harvard College degree. Period… It’s willful ignorance on the part of HES grads that it will be overlooked. Anyone who doesn’t know how to represent an HES degree on a resume is a liar.

It happens every few years where my firm gets an HES grad misrepresenting their degree. The latest “MA Anthropology – Harvard,” which after a little checking (we have learned to ALWAYS be suspicious), ends up being an MLA with a concentration from HES. When confronted they always plead ignorance and make the same BS argument about how they took classes on campus at Harvard taught by faculty and blah, blah, blah. Some are otherwise good candidates, but they are still committing resume fraud. I would take an honest UMass or UConn grad over HES any day. Had they listed their true HES credential on the resume and sold it in the interview, they would be fine.

http://blogs.harvard.edu/lamont/2017/11/...l-degrees/

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/2199...st-harvard

While I accept this premise, I think it can easily get pretty tricky especially the further away you get from the rather well established "extension" or  "Global Campus" programs and branch campuses of various reputes. Those are cut and dry, Harvard Extension isn't really Harvard as most people imagine it, Purdue University-Calumet isn't really Purdue in an even more real sense, and UNC-Asheville is even less related to UNC-Chapel Hill than any of the rest. This is straightforward, but that isn't always the case. 

Take for example the University of Iowa. A name brand school that is mildly prestigious insofar as any school with a billion dollar endowment, lots of famous alumni, at least one top ranked grad program, and a 70,000 seat football stadium has prestige)... a degree from Iowa isn't Harvard, but it should open some doors. Iowa operates an online/off campus program for non-traditional students through it's University College, this program is only open to students who are over age 22 with some college credit and provides them with a general studies program to earn a degree. This is very similar to some of the programs you mention, and I cannot imagine it is competitive. However the University of Iowa lumps the University College in with it's other academic units (College of Liberal Arts, College of Education, etc.), someone earning a degree from the college gets to go to Iowa City and graduate with everyone else. What are those graduates? Are they Iowa alumni? A lower class of Iowa alumni? Does one general studies degree from Iowa mean more or less to grad schools and employers (especially outside of the state of Iowa) than another? Should these people put "University College" on their resume even though you wouldn't put "College of Liberal Arts and Sciences"?

And then, of course, there are those employers who don't believe in the value of any degree not earned in person. If I attend Arizona State online, should I mention that? Some employers may think it's misleading to claim I went to Arizona State if I've never set foot in Tempe. Should I ensure that they have the opportunity to weed me out on that basis? This isn't the same as being dishonest, but it gets to some of the same issues more broadly about the way that this can be kind of arbitrary in certain cases.

[dfrecore]

While I accept this premise, I think it can easily get pretty tricky especially the further away you get from the rather well established "extension" or  "Global Campus" programs and branch campuses of various reputes. Those are cut and dry, Harvard Extension isn't really Harvard as most people imagine it, Purdue University-Calumet isn't really Purdue in an even more real sense, and UNC-Asheville is even less related to UNC-Chapel Hill than any of the rest. This is straightforward, but that isn't always the case. 

Take for example the University of Iowa. A name brand school that is mildly prestigious insofar as any school with a billion dollar endowment, lots of famous alumni, at least one top ranked grad program, and a 70,000 seat football stadium has prestige)... a degree from Iowa isn't Harvard, but it should open some doors. Iowa operates an online/off campus program for non-traditional students through it's University College, this program is only open to students who are over age 22 with some college credit and provides them with a general studies program to earn a degree. This is very similar to some of the programs you mention, and I cannot imagine it is competitive. However the University of Iowa lumps the University College in with it's other academic units (College of Liberal Arts, College of Education, etc.), someone earning a degree from the college gets to go to Iowa City and graduate with everyone else. What are those graduates? Are they Iowa alumni? A lower class of Iowa alumni? Does one general studies degree from Iowa mean more or less to grad schools and employers (especially outside of the state of Iowa) than another? Should these people put "University College" on their resume even though you wouldn't put "College of Liberal Arts and Sciences"?

And then, of course, there are those employers who don't believe in the value of any degree not earned in person. If I attend Arizona State online, should I mention that? Some employers may think it's misleading to claim I went to Arizona State if I've never set foot in Tempe. Should I ensure that they have the opportunity to weed me out on that basis? This isn't the same as being dishonest, but it gets to some of the same issues more broadly about the way that this can be kind of arbitrary in certain cases.

It's not tricky at all.  Just write on your resume what your diploma says.  There, simple.

And no, you don't have to put that you went online, if the diploma doesn't say it was online.  Just because someone might "think" that you have to go to the actual campus to get the degree, doesn't negate what the school itself says.  If a school determines that their online courses are as good as their in-person courses, and puts their name on them, then that's good enough.  It's not you who is portraying something a certain way, and you can't predict what someone might think.

Just write what it says on the diploma, and don't worry about the rest.

AND, I can't imagine that the majority of time (probably 90% in most industries), anyone will ever even ask about college.  Employers want to know that you can do the job, and most of the time, that's proven through your work history.  THAT is what employers care about.  HR might care about the degree, and they may check to make sure you have the degree you claim, but they're not going to question every course and see where you took them.

[Life Long Learning]

While I accept this premise, I think it can easily get pretty tricky especially the further away you get from the rather well established "extension" or  "Global Campus" programs and branch campuses of various reputes. Those are cut and dry, Harvard Extension isn't really Harvard as most people imagine it, Purdue University-Calumet isn't really Purdue in an even more real sense, and UNC-Asheville is even less related to UNC-Chapel Hill than any of the rest. This is straightforward, but that isn't always the case. 

Take for example the University of Iowa. A name brand school that is mildly prestigious insofar as any school with a billion dollar endowment, lots of famous alumni, at least one top ranked grad program, and a 70,000 seat football stadium has prestige)... a degree from Iowa isn't Harvard, but it should open some doors. Iowa operates an online/off campus program for non-traditional students through it's University College, this program is only open to students who are over age 22 with some college credit and provides them with a general studies program to earn a degree. This is very similar to some of the programs you mention, and I cannot imagine it is competitive. However the University of Iowa lumps the University College in with it's other academic units (College of Liberal Arts, College of Education, etc.), someone earning a degree from the college gets to go to Iowa City and graduate with everyone else. What are those graduates? Are they Iowa alumni? A lower class of Iowa alumni? Does one general studies degree from Iowa mean more or less to grad schools and employers (especially outside of the state of Iowa) than another? Should these people put "University College" on their resume even though you wouldn't put "College of Liberal Arts and Sciences"?

And then, of course, there are those employers who don't believe in the value of any degree not earned in person. If I attend Arizona State online, should I mention that? Some employers may think it's misleading to claim I went to Arizona State if I've never set foot in Tempe. Should I ensure that they have the opportunity to weed me out on that basis? This isn't the same as being dishonest, but it gets to some of the same issues more broadly about the way that this can be kind of arbitrary in certain cases.

It's not tricky at all.  Just write on your resume what your diploma says.  There, simple.

And no, you don't have to put that you went online, if the diploma doesn't say it was online.  Just because someone might "think" that you have to go to the actual campus to get 

Some diplomas will only say BS or BA.  Other diplomas put on the Major.  Some diplomas will even have an honor level to it.  

The official college Transcript would be more accurate.  The employer (ie Federal Gov) gets sent an official Transcript not a diploma.  What your official Transcript says!

[clep3705]

Nurse practitioner education is predominately online. Some programs have students come to the campus only to take tests and examine practice patients. Other programs are completely online with no campus visit ever. Duke and Vanderbilt have lots of on campus visits required. It's not just a question of rigor or prestige. It's also a question of academic integrity. Do you prefer an NP who graduated from a program where all testing was done in person? Do you think that online is as good as in person education where the students spend many long hours studying, practicing, and discussing with each other? Are you answering these questions as a potential nurse practitioner student who currently lives in the middle of nowhere? Or are you answering as the patient who lives in the middle of nowhere who may have a nurse practitioner as the only healthcare provider option? There are many physicians criticizing the predominately online nature of nurse practitioner education. Clarification: the clinical training involving actual patients is always in person.

[sanantone]

Sitting in a classroom is overrated. The amount people participate in classroom discussions is exaggerated. Many medical school students don't bother to show up for didactic classes, which is why Stanford started offering lectures online. Research has found that online courses are just as affective for adult learners. Cheating on testing is prevented with online proctoring. Research has found that on-campus students are more likely to cheat on everything else.

[dfrecore]

Nurse practitioner education is predominately online. Some programs have students come to the campus only to take tests and examine practice patients. Other programs are completely online with no campus visit ever. Duke and Vanderbilt have lots of on campus visits required. It's not just a question of rigor or prestige. It's also a question of academic integrity. Do you prefer an NP who graduated from a program where all testing was done in person? Do you think that online is as good as in person education where the students spend many long hours studying, practicing, and discussing with each other? Are you answering these questions as a potential nurse practitioner student who currently lives in the middle of nowhere? Or are you answering as the patient who lives in the middle of nowhere who may have a nurse practitioner as the only healthcare provider option? There are many physicians criticizing the predominately online nature of nurse practitioner education. Clarification: the clinical training involving actual patients is always in person.

Most people that go on to be NP's are already practicing in medicine in some way (like RN's) and can't go to school full time, or even get to campuses on a regular basis.  So they have found that online works better, and that they can serve their students more effectively.  If SCHOOLS themselves have found that the best way for NP's to learn is online, why would YOU question that?  I wouldn't.

If they do a portion of their learning online, and do the clinicals in person, I don't see the problem.

[rlw74]

What would be the problem with NP education being online? It's only for those who already have credentials as nurses and are working in the field. It's like the RN to BSN programs - most of those are online too but it's an extension of the education already earned. It hardly has anything to do with the topic, which is what one should put on a resume.

[clep3705]

dfrecore, I'm not questioning the schools. I specifically stated that some physicians are questioning online education and thus the schools. I heard one say that he won't train online NP students. rlw74, online vs. in person won't appear on a transcript. I'm speculating that if a physician looked down on online training, he or she would react differently depending on whether or not online appeared on a resume or c.v. Although I gave an example in a specific field, I'm really seeking opinions on whether or not people think the field of study affects whether online is relevant to the resume. We talk about credit laundering here. Is there such a thing as online laundering, a way to hide online from the resume? Saying Harvard Extension instead of Harvard seems like online laundering. Does the spirit of full disclosure mean that online should be on a resume? My only goal is to add some nuances to what I think is an interesting discussion.

[MNomadic]

There are a few degrees that specify it's online (iMBA from University of Illinois via Coursera) but most are just degrees. People are under no obligation to state if it was online unless the degree or transcript specifies so. I'm sure a large proportion traditional B & M students now supplement part of their curriculum with some online courses and some nontraditional online students supplement with some but-in-seat courses. Heck, right now I'm doing an "online" program but well over half of my degree is transfer credits from in person courses from B & M and military.

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If one was obligated to disclose that some/most/all of their courses were online, should other students disclose which classes they didn't show up to except on test day or which one's they slept during? Nowadays, an increasing amount of courses incorporate a blended learning approach anyway.

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If an employer specifically asked about the nature of my education, I wouldn't lie. Thus far, no employers have cared that I'm pursuing my degree online and have actually seen that as a plus since it means I'm geographically flexible.

[Johmford]

I keep seeing debate about online versus in person courses and degrees.

I can say with 100% certainty that in person courses are easier, even if you can use “extra resources” online I have always been able to charm my way through in person courses, whereas online I have had to work twice or three times as hard. I know plenty of others who primary education is getting the teacher to like them enough to skate by.

The people who are against online courses and schools need to go ahead and retire.