Title: Are Online Degrees Worth It? - Cost, Perception & Downsides
Headings: Are Online Degrees Worth It? – Cost, Perception & Downsides
Are Online Degrees Worth It? – Cost, Perception & Downsides
Pros of Pursuing an Online Degree
1. It Could Be Less Expensive Than a Residential Alternative
2. It Could Be Easier to Accomplish While Working Full-Time or Raising Kids (or Both)
3. Many Online Degree Programs Are Reputable (Even Prestigious)
4. You Don’t Have to Leave Your House
5. Larger Online Degree Programs & Institutions Have Vast Alumni Networks
6. Your Employer Might Not Realize You Got Your Degree Online
7. It Could Earn You Respect for Your Time Management Skills & Focus
Cons of Pursuing an Online Degree
1. Some Employers Remain Resistant to Online Degrees
2. Some Employers Are Justifiably Skeptical of For-Profit Degree Programs
3. Unaccredited Programs Offer Little Value
4. Online Degree-Seekers Drop Out at Higher Rates Than Campus-Bound Counterparts
5. It Could Call Your Teamwork Skills Into Question
Final Word

Content: If you’re not overly concerned with the name on your degree, you’re more likely (though far from guaranteed) to avoid crippling student loan debt by forgoing the residential experience in favor of an online program. 2. It Could Be Easier to Accomplish While Working Full-Time or Raising Kids (or Both)
Though classroom participation and other quantifiable measures of student engagement can sometimes factor into grading or post-course evaluations, traditional degree programs generally don’t mandate in-person attendance, with notable exceptions for exams and lab work. For example, lectures are likelier than not to be recorded and available online for viewing at students’ leisure. Still, traditional degree programs do place demands on students’ time, especially those heavy on lab work or small-team projects that require close collaboration. Traditional degree programs, or at least individual instructors, are also more likely to hew to traditional expectations of in-person lecture attendance, even when not compulsory. 3. Many Online Degree Programs Are Reputable (Even Prestigious)
Though program quality varies wildly and some online degree programs are sorely lacking, stubborn public perceptions of online-only degree programs as uniformly second-rate are outmoded. Many selective public and private institutions with decades-long or centuries-long records of excellence now offer online degree programs that meet the same standards of instruction and rigor as their traditional, campus-based offerings. Their number includes well-regarded public research universities like Pennsylvania State University (through its World Campus division) and the University of Washington, private STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) schools like the Rochester Institute of Technology, and private liberal arts colleges like Simpson College.