What's the weirdest thing you've heard someone say about college?

[burbuja0512]

These kinds of statements get me riled up.

I had this argument with a friend of mine the other day, who made the comment "I would rather have no degree, than an online degree".  As you can imagine, he has NO degree.  And, no job.  I find it odd that he picked the very week that I received my TESU diploma, to make such a statement.

I read a great article the other day on the epidemic of small colleges closing their doors for good.  A survey of the school administrators discovered that one of the top issues that they wish they had addressed sooner was to implement an online program. 

My wife works for a rather famous Liberal Arts 4-year.  They are in a full-on scramble to add an online program and a Computer Science program, and do it rather quickly.  Enrollment is way down and a focus group of students that turned down their acceptance to the school have indicated that they would not attend a school without at least partial online presence.

I will be as bold to say that not only are the comments AGAINST online schooling inaccurate and ignorant, but if a college wants to survive today, they MUST have an online course delivery offering.  My son is in the Engineering program at the University of Northern Florida.  So far, as a B&M student, his course delivery has been 30% online, and not by his selection.  The counselors are putting him in these courses. 

It is the way of the future, and traditional students from decades ago are going to be salty about it.

I think it's funny that people have strange perceptions of what employers think about their degree.    Did you go to Harvard?  Yale?  the top school for people in your field? or even the local State U that has the locally famous sports team?   If so, congratulations.  Your employer might care about your degree.

If not, your employer could care less and is just looking for a checkbox.  I wouldn't criticize anyone with a UoP degree, but maybe there could be an issue there....  Otherwise, who the heck even recognizes school names?

I have used this example here before, but a friend of mine went to the locally prestigious Colorado College.  As of 2019, it's about $55k per year.   Right now my friend is a high school teacher.  Good for her.  I'm glad that she has an emotionally satisfying job that she has wanted her whole life.   BUT I guarantee that no one has heard of her school or realizes that she is now in her 40's and still paying off loans.     It also took me EVERYTHING I had not to tell her what I make yearly when she criticized my education path and online schools in general.  

Not to mention that most major schools have some form of online school and this just keeps growing.   Online school is not going away anytime soon.    I do recognize that there are some people out there that have biases, and for that reason, I don't actively announce "online college" on my resume, but I'm 99% that no one has heard of COSC just like most people haven't heard of Colorado College.   I just paid a LOT LESS for my degree.