Don't misrepresent where you went to school.

[brodie]

Here's one thing that I see...

I've been taking a lot of cheap economics classes that are subsidized by conservative schools/foundations.  I appreciate the help and obviously some of the idea is to nurture conservative academic structures.  Some of the donors show up at the in person conferences.  And I live right next to Hillsdale College which is kind of like training camp for conservatives.  The conservative movement doesn't happen without this alternative structure.

Places like Harvard have not done a good job of expanding their base beyond cities and college towns.  Here in SE MI there is basically a circle of influence around Ann Arbor and then everyone else kind of rolls their eyes at the crazy liberals.  My point: It is in the best interests of Harvard and MIT and Michigan to create real distance learning pathways for non-campus students because the conservatives have been stealing their lunch.

But, Hillsdale doesn't offer online programs, right? Hillsdale is also not an elite school. There are thousands of non-elite schools across the political spectrum that offer online programs. Among the cheapest are in-state, public schools.

There are really only a few holdouts among the elite schools. Most of them now offer at least one online program. Columbia is the most progressive of the Ivy League schools. They offer about a dozen or more online programs, and their degrees are exactly the same as those earned on campus. Yale started what is only the third distance learning physician assistant program (the first one is gone because the school closed). I think UPenn has a blended doctoral program. 

There are many non-traditional students who have the grades and test scores to get into competitive programs. They just need the online offerings. Requirements don't have to be watered down. There are more than enough open entry schools to serve less competitive students.

I think it's just down to the way institutions are set up. Elite colleges, with few exceptions, are not set up for non-traditional students because they tend to have very few non-traditional students. Since Michigan was mentioned and it's the college I'm most familiar with, I'll use it as an example. Almost everyone at UMich is 18-23, lives in Ann Arbor, goes to school full time, and works part time at most. The only real exceptions to those rules are graduate students and UMich does cater to them (a nights-weekends MBA, a part time non-thesis Chemistry masters, an online engineering program). I think that's the biggest issue here, colleges base their offerings on what they see as their "base" and schools like Michigan don't see a demand among that base for fully online programs. Schools like, say, Central Michigan University have a bigger non-traditional base and thus create better offerings. 

I agree, there is a pent up demand for highly competitive online offerings among qualified students. I think it's inevitable that someone will take this plunge in a way that isn't as half assed as Harvard Extension. As you note, Columbia and NYU and Vanderbilt among others are already in this space.

[alexf.1990]

I agree, there is a pent up demand for highly competitive online offerings among qualified students. I think it's inevitable that someone will take this plunge in a way that isn't as half assed as Harvard Extension. As you note, Columbia and NYU and Vanderbilt among others are already in this space.

Harvard Extension hasn't really had a problem until they started offering a ton of online courses in the last decade. When all of their courses were on campus and taught by either Harvard professors or professors from other local colleges, there was less of a stigma against them. As it stands, a HES graduate student only needs to take 4 courses on campus to finish a masters. Students can get around this even further by taking courses with "intensive weekends" that meet for one weekend on campus but count as a full campus course.

The problem is that requiring more courses on campus reduces the availability for non-traditional students to graduate, which is the founding purpose of HES.

[OldDog]

https://www.extension.harvard.edu/about-us

I can easily see how people can be confused.

From HES "About" page:


About Us
Who We Are

We are Harvard—extended to the world for every type of adult learner.

We serve students seeking part-time, online courses and nonresidential programs to advance their career or pursue an academic passion. Our offerings include:

An undergraduate degree
Graduate degrees
Graduate certificates
More than 900 online and on campus courses

We are a fully accredited Harvard school. Our degrees and certificates are adorned with the Harvard University insignia. They carry the weight of that lineage. Our graduates walk at University commencement and become members of the Harvard Alumni Association.

As one of 12 degree-granting institutions at Harvard University, we teach to the largest and most eclectic student body. Our students come to us from every time zone, every culture and career background, every age from 18 to 89.

[posabsolute]

HES has been debated on every other student forums.

In the end, there are arguments that go both ways, if it were me I would write the exact name of the degree + Harvard university -> Master of Liberal Arts, Software engineering - Harvard University.

Then again, Harvard is not really recognized for computer science, so you know, who cares? I kind of feel it's when you do Strategic Management and people think you went to HBS, then it can become an issue (Or similarly use the prestige of one of their 11 other schools in an obscure way). Or you brag about being accepted at Harvard, what a STUPID move for a HES student, you are begging to be outed. Just use the line they use, it's open admission if you can do the Harvard coursework, everyone thinks twice about if they could do a harvard coursework.

---

With UPenn new master on coursera, you don't even need to attend any on-campus course and are recognized as a full student. I think this is really the way to go, these half Harvard things won't help Harvard in the future, especially against other Ivey that recognize the online students as fully their own.

[sanantone]

HES has been debated on every other student forums.

In the end, there are arguments that go both ways, if it were me I would write the exact name of the degree + Harvard university -> Master of Liberal Arts, Software engineering - Harvard University.

Then again, Harvard is not really recognized for computer science, so you know, who cares? I kind of feel it's when you do Strategic Management and people think you went to HBS, then it can become an issue (Or similarly use the prestige of one of their 11 other schools in an obscure way). Or you brag about being accepted at Harvard, what a STUPID move for a HES student, you are begging to be outed. Just use the line they use, it's open admission if you can do the Harvard coursework, everyone thinks twice about if they could do a harvard coursework.

---

With UPenn new master on coursera, you don't even need to attend any on-campus course and are recognized as a full student. I think this is really the way to go, these half Harvard things won't help Harvard in the future, especially against other Ivey that recognize the online students as fully their own.

I do agree that some other Ivy League schools are being more progressive and inclusive. There are adult learners who are capable of getting into these graduate programs; they just can't afford to quit their jobs and move. Plus, 100% online is more convenient and affordable than the blended nature of Harvard Extension programs. 

But, this is the full name of the degree.

Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies, Field: Software Engineering

It's just abbreviated in some places. It's kind of similar to UF's program in forensic science. The website might abbreviate the name sometimes as an MS in Forensic Science, but the official name is an MS in Pharmacy with a major in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a concentration in Forensic Science. It's a dumb name, but Master of Science in Pharmacy is what is listed on the diploma even though it's really just a forensic science degree. 

[Life Long Learning]

I would take a Harvard Extension Degree over tons of big State University degrees myself.  Heck, I have done excellent with a Big three degree that most Americans have never heard of.

[nyvrem]

i wonder how the new UPenn online bachelor's degree would fair.

[sanantone]

I would take a Harvard Extension Degree over tons of big State University degrees myself.  Heck, I have done excellent with a Big three degree that most Americans have never heard of.

It depends on the field. I'd definitely choose Georgia Tech over Harvard Extension for anything related to IT or CS. It's cheaper, and you're learning at one of the best CS schools in the country.

[posabsolute]

I would take a Harvard Extension Degree over tons of big State University degrees myself.  Heck, I have done excellent with a Big three degree that most Americans have never heard of.

It depends on the field. I'd definitely choose Georgia Tech over Harvard Extension for anything related to IT or CS. It's cheaper, and you're learning at one of the best CS schools in the country.

I agree with that, and being liberal degrees, you can work your way around difficult CS courses at HES which normally you cannot do with a typical CS master. It's cool because you can really handpick your interests (And it's Software Engineering, not CS), but you never really know what coursework the guy did at HES.

[Life Long Learning]

I would take a Harvard Extension Degree over tons of big State University degrees myself.  Heck, I have done excellent with a Big three degree that most Americans have never heard of.

It depends on the field. I'd definitely choose Georgia Tech over Harvard Extension for anything related to IT or CS. It's cheaper, and you're learning at one of the best CS schools in the country.

There will always be exceptions. 
 
In general, I would rather have a Harvard's University Extension School degree than a Georgia Tech degree.  GT is not that well known.  Harvard is a World brand, and GT is not at that level nor will be in my lifetime.  For the great number of us, the Brand name and even college Major have little meaning in our careers. The level of degree does.  That was the case in my Army career and my second Federal career. 
 
When I just asked to have five weeks off to attend Harvard University EE programs next year (true story) my bosses were very supportive.  If I had asked them the same about GT, my same bosses would have said why?
 
Look at LinkedIn:
Harvard University: 239,540+ alumni and 846,909 followers on LinkedIn.
Georgia Institute of Technology: 150,994+ alumni and 248,004 followers on LinkedIn.