WebJunction

Very interesting! According to the study cited in the article, roughly 60 percent of employers view an online degree as "second class."

I hope some folks weigh in here with their personal experiences. I've heard great things about Drexel's distance program. I know that the University of Washington's iSchool had some logistical bugs to work out in the first couple of years of offering an online degree, but the curriculum and the teaching staff are pretty much the same as for the day (face-to-face) students. I took one distance class and was impressed with the level of communication between the other students with each other and with the instructor. They are getting much better preparation for immersion in a virtual world than those of us who sat in classes in the traditional way. We made little or no use of channels of electronic communication.

Has anyone met with this kind of discrimination in your job searching?

I completed my entire MSLIS online from Drexel (graduating this December) and completed more then half of my undergraduate degree online as well. It was the only option for me since my previous career had me doing extensive travel. When I started my undergrad online degree I had been working for a top name computer company and was assured my choice of school was acceptable. I learned alot from my program but combining it with my current company allowed me to shoot up the career ladder quite fast. I decided to do the same route that was so sucessfull for me with my undergrad with my masters program. I had grown up in the Philadelphia area so I knew Drexel's reputation as an on-campus college.

I took one class of my entire program on-campus. The rest I had to take online due to work. It was a life saver and I feel I learned just as much as my on-campus counterparts. Maybe even more since we are required to participate instead of hiding in the back of the room all term being quiet. I feel that my extensive association involvement and my willingness to learn outside the classroom helped me gain an edge in my learnings. Now mind you, I do believe that if I had been on campus I would have taken the same tactics. It was never an issue to me that I may be missing out because I was behind a computer screen.

I was laid off from my previous company in September after 6 years there and it couldn't have been better timing. I am in my last elective and was ready to find a job in an academic library. I found a great position as Networked Resources Specialist where I focus on SFX and e-resources at a Philadelphia-area college. My interview did ask the question of what I thought about my online MSLIS and my responses were just as anyone would assume from me who knows my traveling background. The online program was a godsend to complete a masters degree and I learned alot both in the class and outside the class.

I would recommend online programs to anyone who is very motivated and wants to obtain that goal of higher ed without feeling like its impossible due to life constraints. Drexel is just like any other school I have heard about - it has its ups and it has its downs. In the end choosing online did nothing but help me get where I never thought I would be.

-Sandra

Thank you for this.

We're in the process of hiring a new reference librarian ... now I won't be quite so suspicious of an off-site degree.

Lack of long-term "proof of quality."

Mind you, because "Library Science" is a collection of techniques with, nowadays, very little sense of "professional community" looking out for itself (as attorneys and doctors do) it is relatively easier to offer online.

YMMV, IMHO, etc.

Message was edited by:
librarybob

Understandable, but online programs still need to be ALA accredited and meet guidelines just like the on campus programs.

To Karen...(Where ever you are out there, I don't have your e-mail address).

"Don't Discredit My Online Degree"
By Karen Glover — October 15, 2005

Thank you so much for you informative article! You have given me hope in finally finishing my ALA accredited - MLS (of some sort) degree.

Alison

Alice A. Pearsall
Department of Environmental Quality
Records Management Center
Phoenix, AZ
didovirgil@yahoo.com

I tend to think that management (moi!) would look at an online degree through the prism of what a particular job requires.

Tech services requires a great deal of familiarity with, and use of, specific tools. I'd be concerned about an online degree here inasmuch as my experiences in the long ago showed me that day-to-day association with a skilled practitioner was important.

On the other hand, for a person who brings a great deal of experience, subject knowledge, and curiosity to a reference position I might see an online degree as proper credentialing.

Those are largely advantages for the person taking the course ... and not a bad thing by themselves. The larger questions, though, are: 1) What are the advantages to the profession (in terms of trained personnel) and 2) What are the advantages to the hiring organization ... do they get the quality they need?