How do online degrees differ from traditional degrees?

Hi, Sergeant Vereen.

Online schools get a bad rap because, in the beginning, they were considered diploma mills. All students had to do was pay a fee to get a diploma Not long ago, I read a story about a lady that received her online doctorate from a school overseas in six months.

That’s changed. Many brick-and-mortar universities, including my undergrad alma mater, now have programs that are completely online. The challenge now is discipline. A lot of those classes had 75% failure rates, because a lot of students would wait until the very last minute to turn in assignments. The challenge is effective time management.

The advantage of in-house classes is that you can get immediate feedback, advice, and direction from your instructor and your peers. That same availability in online classes, as you can imagine, suffers lag time. And coordinating group projects can be extremely troublesome.

However, the only argument for either forum is accreditation. As you said your school is regionally accredited, any bashing your receive is baseless.

Good luck in school!

SFC (Join to see) My question would be this: They guys bashing, where are they going to school, while they are working, just like you? If they are not (working and going to school), their opinion is irrelevant. At the end of the day, what matters is that you are moving forward, at an accredited school, making progress toward goals that you have. Keep at it. Not all of us have the ability to go sit down at a school and take classes in that nice structured environment. Some of us (I would guess more than less) have to take classes however we can.

I had an NCOIC that made fun of me and other coworkers for going to school online until he retired at 24 years and the only job he could get was cutting grass on base because he didn't even get his CCAF associates degree.

Just pick a good online school and a program that gives you knowledge in a marketable area. Best of luck to you and your wife!

Its not about where or how you got the education. It is about what did you learn and was it what you needed to better yourself.

Once upon a time I thought that there was little difference between traditional class learning and distance learning. Now, I'm not so sure. Distance learning may be preferable. When my daughter was attending UC Irvine I had occasion to walk across the campus with her. She was apprenticing for me at the time and we were on our way back from a client's office, and she had to make a quick stop at the campus book store. I held back a few paces and looked around. My daughter was marching across the campus like a business woman, someone with a place to go, things to do, people to see. All around on the campus sat clusters of students and professors participating in indoctrination sessions having little to do with education. Ultimately, my daughter dropped out and began a contract at Boeing earning a six-figure income using the skills she had learned from me and in on-line courses. She now has a daughter in 6th grade who attends only two classes each morning in middle school. She takes the rest on line at home so she can participate in dance training six days each week. My granddaughter's on line classes in math and social science has her far ahead of those attending regular classes. Ultimately, when she graduates she'll have the same diploma as those who attended classes. The real test will come when she competes with them on the job. I suspect that she won't have any problem with that...

The discussion about the difference between online and B&M degrees is often framed as a difference in learning style. It's the wrong way to think about it, since B&M degrees can have online components, recorded lectures, online assignments, or non-mandatory attendance except for examinations.

The real heart of the matter is the quality of education. That's something you can only appreciate by going to a tier-1 university (usually, the "best" state public U or a really good private university). It's internships, networking, summer opportunities, research, and high quality faculty.

You'll invariably hear that education is all about "what you make of it" and that's not untrue. But if you're academically gifted or diligent, and you have the choice between and University of State, you're doing yourself a disservice by going online. If you're constrained by time or work, then you go online. At one point of my life I did just that; I have online classes on my transcript from AMU and Park U and I'm not ashamed of it.

However, when I decided to focus on education after separating from active duty, I went all-in and transferred to a university. It was SUBSTANTIALLY more difficult, and anyone who has both online and B&M experience who says the jump wasn't needs to reevaluate the rigor of both their college and their degree.

My opinion...it really depends on your end objective. It's always better to go with a reputable school...and there are tons of traditional and online schools to pick from. But, there are various levels of reputable degrees. If you are trying to go to OCS/OTS GPA does matter...and there are minimum requirements for some programs. For the most part these boards won't care where you got your degree... Just that you completed one and got the required GPA. So if this is your goal, maybe the MOST reputable, hardest school out there, may not be the best option.

The main difference is the amount of direct contact that you have with your faculty and your classmates. Online classes try to build that in as much as possible. For some programs (like technical degrees), that direct contact may not be as important. For others, like programs where you have lots of group activities (like an MBA), it may be important. Those connections with your classmates also serve as a network for you once you enter the workforce using that degree. I've taught both traditional classes and online classes. I've also taught hybrid classes (that I call "click and brick"). As a faculty member, I prefer traditional and hybrid classes because they help me get to know the students better and enable me to work more directly with the students. I feel they learn the material much better in those formats (as opposed to fully online). You can find reputable online programs at reputable schools, so don't be swayed necessarily by what other are saying. Just pick as reputable of a program, at as reputable of a university, as you can. Also, chose the format that best works with your lifestyle, work requirements, location, etc.

I received my degree from Central Washington. I took the hybrid, tradition, and online classes. Honestly, it's all the same in my opinion in regards to learning. In a class setting you have the luxury to ask question about assignment and you are given the answer immediately as compared to online where you have to wait a day or two to get your answer.

What I find interesting is that in college you basically teach yourself in both traditional or online class after the instructor gives you the assignment. The only difference is the schedule. In a traditional class, your schedule is fixated on the class schedule, whereas online, you set your own schedule. Which I prefer because I hating having to drive to class everyday and lucky enough to find a parking space.

I haven't taken any on-line classes but my feeling is that you would have to be a self motivated, self starter to be successful. I prefer the "brick and mortar" institution for now.