Don't misrepresent where you went to school.

[eriehiker]

I have an on-campus degree from Michigan and I have an online degree from TESU. I like them both. They are not the same. The best part of being on-campus at a place like Michigan - and I assume Harvard, too - is being surrounded by ambitious and creative people 24/7 and then doing amazing things with them. When I was at Michigan, I organized Jewish, Christian, Muslim dialogue groups and helped to write the campus policy on religious holidays. It was a very cool experience. I think that the tuition paid at really good state universities is worth it. I would think that normal Harvard tuition is probably worth it.

That said, I think that places like TESU are FANTASTIC. The ability to crank out a degree or several degrees using five minutes here and five minutes there throughout the day is incredible and the wave of the future. It is just a highly-productive thing to be able to do and it is not less than a degree from a place like Michigan or Harvard in any way. It is just its own thing.

[videogamesrock]

Ok before I move on. Which university issues the extension degree?

[AJ_Atlanta]

I am curious about that last part of the quote in the OP: "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."

Sold it in the interview? Like HES is some unknown unaccredited college?

HES had been around for decades and was never know for being a cake walk, sure it's not UPenn but neither is Harvard proper for that matter

And as for HES not being part of the greater university experience or community, I have to call BS. Sorry but I knew a lot of students when I was in school who didn't live in the dorms, hang around campus, or all that other nonsense mentioned. Ivy League schools are hard, very hard, and many students didn't have time for all that if they wanted to pass. Maybe they missed out on things? The ones I know don't regret it.

[dfrecore]

And as for HES not being part of the greater university experience or community, I have to call BS.  Sorry but I knew a lot of students when I was in school who didn't live in the dorms, hang around campus, or all that other nonsense mentioned.  Ivy League schools are hard, very hard, and many students didn't have time for all that if they wanted to pass.  Maybe they missed out on things? The ones I know don't regret it.

I agree.  I lived on campus (not Harvard) for one long miserable year.  I LOATHED it.  I couldn't wait to get my own apartment.  I was on campus as little as possible, even though I lived right down the street.  I was not involved in ANYTHING - no clubs, sororities, or any other activity.  It just wasn't my thing.

[alexf.1990]

Ok before I move on. Which university issues the extension degree?

Harvard Extension School is a separate school underneath the Harvard University umbrella. The undergrad diploma looks like this:

and the masters diploma is in latin, like every other diploma from the Faculty of Arts of Sciences:

[videogamesrock]

Ok so Harvard University issues the degree. Got it. Let’s chalk this one up under work smarter not harder.

[Life Long Learning]

Are HES allowed to join the Harvard Alumni Association upon the conferral of their degree?

They are. They're also allowed to join the Harvard Club. From what I understand, the HAA isn't as valuable for networking as the alumni associations of the individual schools. The Harvard Club appears to be just a social club for people who graduated from Harvard College to talk about the good old days, so membership isn't worth much for someone who can't bond over experiences on Harvard's campus.

That is 100% opposite of the Harvard Executive Education alumni.  These alumni (HKS can be as short as 6-days) can only join the individual school alumni, not the Univerity one.  They join the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School (HBS), etc.   These types only care about their own area.

I suppose their rationale is that anyone well off enough to pay 30-50k for a week long course belongs in their inner circle.

BTW it is only 9K for one week at HKS (they are most accepting); and or 6 weeks at HBS or MIT Slone School of Management and the last two will run you 60K+

People who can afford to drop 60-80K in 6 weeks have money to hire MIT and HBS grads.

[brodie]

HES had been around for decades and was never know for being a cake walk, sure it's not UPenn but neither is Harvard proper for that matter

Yeah, this is another thing. Only like 600 people graduate from HES every year out of 13,000 people who sign up for their classes. A breeze to get through it ain't.

Regarding the community life thing, everyone is obviously different in this regard... but one of the benefits that comes with a more prestigious degree is the networking involved. And not just with your profs and classmates. The idea is that, decades from now, you will be at an alumni association meeting seven states away talking about the good old days drinking at (INSERT COLLEGE BAR) with someone who will then say "Hey, do you need a new job?" and proceed to open some sort of door for you. The desire to get in on those kind of networks are a central motivating factor for those who don't go the DegreeForum route and instead pursue their online educations at Arizona State, Penn State, the University of Florida, Indiana University, and other name brand colleges with big online offerings. What the comment from the Harvard blog I highlighted shows is that those students may never be able to break through into that kind of networking. Your resume may say Penn State, but when you demonstrate a lack of ability to differentiate Zenos from Zola, your carriage may turn back into a pumpkin. And that's a stigma that should be fought against, not leaned into.

[sanantone]

Ok so Harvard University issues the degree. Got it. Let’s chalk this one up under work smarter not harder.

Harvard Extension students have access to fewer non-loan aid options, so I don't know how that results in working smarter. 

I looked into Harvard Extension's master's program, and these were the reasons why I didn't choose it. 

1. I would have to take three courses on campus. How much would it cost for me to live in Massachusetts for a semester? Can I afford to quit my job? You can get away with only being on campus for three weeks for some of the degree programs, but this wasn't the case for the one I was interested in. 

2. You can't receive financial aid until you're admitted. You have to take three courses before applying. That's $8,250 out of pocket. 

3. I would spend $33,000 for a degree that employers would know is second-rate compared to non-extension programs. 

If I had time to attend class on campus, it would make more sense to attend University of Texas at Austin. There are a lot more UT graduates here, so networking would be easier. If Texas A&M had an online master's program that I was interested in, that would have been the best choice because Texas A&M has one of the strongest alumni associations. It's ranked lower than UT, but it's easier to network as a Texas A&M alumnus.

[AJ_Atlanta]

HES had been around for decades and was never know for being a cake walk, sure it's not UPenn but neither is Harvard proper for that matter

Yeah, this is another thing. Only like 600 people graduate from HES every year out of 13,000 people who sign up for their classes. A breeze to get through it ain't.

Regarding the community life thing, everyone is obviously different in this regard... but one of the benefits that comes with a more prestigious degree is the networking involved. And not just with your profs and classmates. The idea is that, decades from now, you will be at an alumni association meeting seven states away talking about the good old days drinking at (INSERT COLLEGE BAR) with someone who will then say "Hey, do you need a new job?" and proceed to open some sort of door for you. The desire to get in on those kind of networks are a central motivating factor for those who don't go the DegreeForum route and instead pursue their online educations at Arizona State, Penn State, the University of Florida, Indiana University, and other name brand colleges with big online offerings. What the comment from the Harvard blog I highlighted shows is that those students may never be able to break through into that kind of networking. Your resume may say Penn State, but when you demonstrate a lack of ability to differentiate Zenos from Zola, your carriage m I ay turn back into a pumpkin. And that's a stigma that should be fought against, not leaned into.

I do think there is some value to it, it really does depend on the student - obviously finishing the degree and actual learning is the most important part.

personally now living rather far from Philly and the NE I don't meet many other UPenn folks