Title: Online degree - Wikipedia
Headings: Online degree
Online degree
Contents
Accreditation
Quality
Prevalence of online education
Financial aid
See also
References

Content: While most major online colleges are regionally accredited, the public estimation of their quality is in dispute. A national survey of hiring representatives showed that a preference toward on-campus degrees exists. In some instances, hiring executives were unwilling to consider applicants with an online degree. Some experts argue that degrees in certain fields are more accepted online than in others, while some programs are less suited for online-only schools. A major issue for accredited and reputable online programs is the proliferation of proprietary online-only programs that have come under fire in recent years. A survey by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) found that 100% of employers who responded felt that distance education program graduates performed better on the job as a result of their degree (as compared to their previous performance). Additionally, employers felt that an employee receiving a distance education degree compared favorably, in terms of knowledge learned, to someone with a resident degree. On the other hand, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in January 2007 on a Vault Inc. survey that found 55 percent of employers preferred traditional degrees over online ones. Forty-one percent, however, said they would give "equal consideration to both types of degrees". The Sloan Consortium, an organization funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to maintain and improve the quality of distance education, publishes regular reports on the state of United States distance education.