Online education has stayed and gained immense popularity over the years. However, during the pandemic, its importance increased more than ever.
According to data, enrollment in digital college courses increased substantially by 93% during the pandemic.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, college degrees became more important to Americans, leading many students to opt for careers that require such degrees or pursue a degree later in life.
The job market is shifting, and college graduates are in high demand. Online education provides opportunities for busy students, especially working adults, who want to pursue a degree.
While traditional brick-and-mortar schools have advantages, online learning is an attractive alternative. It works particularly well for many modern students and working adults.
However, one question remains confusing: Do these degrees and courses find equal respect in the job market?
To find the answer, keep reading.
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Online Education In The Past
The concept of online education has been around for several decades now.
It started in the 1960s with the University of Illinois’ Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations (PLATO) program. This program was designed to offer educational material through computer-based methods.
However, it wasn’t until 1982 that The Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in California introduced a virtual education program. This was the point when online education started gaining more popularity.
The event served as a catalyst, leading other colleges to add online curriculum elements to their traditional education programs.
It wasn’t until 1993 that Jones International University opened in Colorado, becoming the first fully online accredited university.
This was a significant milestone in the history of online education, and it marked the beginning of a new era in how we learn and acquire knowledge.
Online Education: Benefits For Students
Whether in the classroom or online, completing an academic degree offers numerous benefits, including higher salaries and lower unemployment rates.
Online education comes with its benefits. For instance, it comes with the benefit of availing online aids like essay writing services by Fresh Essay and using tools like Grammarly and plagiarism checkers. This helps students make more time for knowledge rather than unnecessary syntaxes.
Online education is popular due to its flexibility, making it accessible to everyone, including military students.
Early adopters of distance education have developed innovative solutions to transition traditional higher education to an online environment. They offer flexibility and opportunities for interaction and relationship building.
Despite the challenges students and faculty face transitioning from in-person to online in 2020, early results are encouraging.
Bay View Analytics reported that over half of students felt more positive about online learning and digital materials than before the pandemic, and 73% expressed a desire to take future classes online.
Online Education: From An Employer’s Perspective
Online degrees have gained popularity, with 93% of graduates reporting a positive return on investment in learning and employment opportunities.
Companies are becoming more accepting of online degrees. Still, some employers may favor an online degree from a prestigious school or a four-year nonprofit institution over a for-profit, accelerated program.
According to the Department of Education, students studying through online courses achieved slightly better results on average. On the other hand, those with offline degrees came home with lower scores despite the same study material.
Universities claim online degrees equal face-to-face classroom environments and can sometimes provide better outcomes for students limited by geography, opportunity, and time.
However, students may still need to worry about whether today’s employers consider an online degree as good as its on-campus counterpart.
61% of HR leaders believe online learning is of equal or greater quality to more traditional methods, and 71% of organizations have hired a job applicant with an online degree in the last 12 months.
How To Prove The Worth Of Your Online Degree?
Online degrees are becoming popular for professionals seeking to improve their workforce position.
To frame an education, consider tangible skills, industry-accepted accreditation, real-world experiences, mentoring partnerships, and workshops.
Focus on the top aspects of the industry you want to join and use career development programs or job counseling services to clarify your worth.
Embrace the unique qualities of online degrees, such as time management, collaboration, tech literacy, and a motivated personality.
Emphasize how your online degree has contributed to your ability to learn and work independently over a lifetime.
With over 120 years of accreditation and 5+ campus locations, Northeastern University graduates are well-prepared for success.
Emphasize your drive, ability to multitask, and willingness to overcome obstacles to achieve your educational and career goals.
How To Select An Online Course?
Accreditation is crucial for online schools to ensure the quality of education. Accreditation agencies set standards and conduct regular assessments for each institution within their jurisdiction.
Before applying, confirm if an agency accredits your prospective online school and check the Department of Education’s database of accredited agencies.
Despite the widespread acceptance of online degrees, there is still a preference for online degrees from a well-reputed school.
Some for-profit online schools offer accelerated degrees targeting BIPOC students and promise job security in exchange for high tuition rates.
Moreover, it is important to take your steps carefully with online courses. Therefore, research and read reviews about potential lawsuits regarding financial issues or deceptive practices that might affect your education.
It’s important to confirm if credits earned at an online school can be transferred to another online or brick-and-mortar school, as institutions often have their credit transfer criteria.
The Growing Acceptance Of Online Education
Online education has faced controversies. However, employers are now realizing the value of these degrees.
When the pandemic in 2020 forced millions of college students to choose between online or in-person classes, it blurred this misapprehension.
The perceived stigma against online degrees is waning. Even before the pandemic, acclaim for online degree programs was growing.
A 2016 Gallup article found that postgraduates who took over half of their classes online got the same employment opportunities. They found positions in professional and managerial jobs according to their ambitions.
Therefore, the job market fits quite well with the population of students holding online degrees. These students are equally trained. Consequently, we have reached a time where we must stop judging postgraduate degrees by their online status.