For those in search of a change in career path, online education provides the most flexible option. As a requisite for online degree and education, every student should endeavor to know what major employers think about the online students that didn’t receive their degree through the traditional method of higher education.

Below are seven facts you need to know about the way today’s employers regard online degrees.

  1. The better of today’s employers embrace online degrees.

A lot of well-respected and international universities around the world provide online learning courses. Hence, employers have better regard for online degrees earned from such universities. This is according to the chief recruitment officer at Decision Toolbox, Nicole Cox.  She works at a national recruitment firm, and according to Nicole, “Schools got better at the delivery models, and hiring managers, particularly in the technology industries, became much more comfortable with it.”

  1. Overall, the opinions of employers vary

Despite the gradual shift in opinion, the perspective of many employers still differs. Hence, you’ll find some employers who rather not hire an online degree holder whiles others wouldn’t hesitate.

Speaking on this, Mary M. Massad, the division president of recruiting services at the human resources firm Insperity says, “Not every company is going to view an online degree in HR equally.” This, she said regarding the field of human resources in general.

  1. Accreditation isn’t very essential

This is very much so in the case of less popular schools. Often, employers will find out if an online program has accreditation from the necessary academic boards. Hence, they seek to ensure that an external organization with the required authority makes sure that the schools’ programs are up to par with the recognized and approved academic standards.

Speaking on this issue, Massad mentioned that, “The key for most of our clients and how we guide them is that the online degree is coming from an accredited program or school, and that is the difference in what we’re looking for.”

  1. Some choose nonprofit programs over for-profit programs

For-profit online degree programs are still regarded with a bit of stigmatization. This results in widespread criticism for the low amount of students that complete courses and some shady recruitment practices that have been observed over the past years among employers. Nevertheless, according to experts, some employers are beginning to accept candidates with for-profit online degrees.

In 2016, Greg Keller, chief operating officer at the Bloomfield & Company, which is based in the District of Columbia mentioned to U.S News that, “My guess would be that if you’ve got five really qualified applicants, and one of them has the for-profit degree, it could work against them.”

  1. They are yet to get familiar to competency-based education

According to a recent study, the better part of employers isn’t familiar with programs that are based on competency. These programs allow online students to display specific skills with a level of mastery. Not that employers regard these to be negative; mainly, they only have to familiarize themselves with what these options present.

Managing principal of ExecuSource – the staffing and recruiting firm said to U.S News that more hiring managers would appreciate how competency-based education if they understood what it entails.

 

Summary

Hence, all employers aren’t on the same page about online degrees and their validity at the workplace. However, the landscape is quickly changing, and many industries are increasingly embracing the internet as a primary medium for disseminating information and knowledge. Therefore, you can ride the high wave and remain ahead of the curve with an online degree. The critical factor remains the fact that you need to take accreditation into careful consideration. 

 

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