Getting both employers and learners to consider online learning mainstream is still underway, says Dr. Mary Bold, associate

professor of family studies at Texas Woman's University who teaches

online and on campus. It's not ubiquitous, but it is recognized as a valid means of education, she says, "often superior to land-based, on-campus education." She adds, "I have seen weak students flounder online and I've seen instructors take the lazy route and produce bad online courses. But when online learning is 'done well,' it is fabulous."

Workers, including Gloria in New Jersey who wrote me, worry how an online education would be perceived by employers. So I asked Dr. Margaret DeFleur, associate dean for Graduate Studies and Research at Louisiana State University and associate professor D. Jonathan Adams at Florida State who have conducted extensive research on employer attitudes. The verdict is that employers said they are "far less likely to find an online degree as acceptable. Such degrees are perceived as being inferior," says Adams.

Even employers who had taken on-line courses themselves were just as unlikely to view online degrees and courses as "equal" as other employers.

The professors looked at how employers from several industries felt. When given a choice between three candidates, university employers would pick a person with a degree from a traditional program instead of an online program 98 percent of the time. Businesses employers would choose the traditional student 96 percent of the time and health care organizations would choose the traditional student 93 percent of the time.

What bugs employers? The biggest perceived weakness in online learning is the lack of face-to-face classroom interaction with students, faculty and experts. Other issues include a program's reputation for a rigorous curriculum and lack of "mentored research, teaching and clinical or field experiences," cites Adams. It didn't matter what type or size business. The "perception that online degrees are less acceptable remains the same," he said.

The biggest misconception about online study is that it will be easier, says Bold. It may save gas money, babysitting charges, but it won't save effort or time, she says. "Interaction can be just as stimulating," she argues, but it develops differently, with "extended research into a topic through collaboration that can occur anytime, anywhere."

Gloria Zucker, an academic program chair at Kaplan University, a predominantly online institution, agrees saying online education was considered "a walk in the park," but that it can be more difficult than face-to-face because you must be so self motivated. In some fields, an online degree is more acceptable than a brick-and-mortar degree, such as in Instructional Technology and Online College Teaching, she says.

"Reputation and credibility of online degrees are fair concerns for students and employers," says Bold. "The best protection comes from our accreditors, who "are pretty darn tough on distance providers."

If you've got experience under your belt, the degree, while still important, is not judged as critically, says Adams.

Out of 18 million college students, about 3.6 million take courses online. Adams says, "We have heard statements such as 'Once people try it, it will be more accepted.'" My advice: If it fits your life, try it, you just might like it, and just as important, you'll undoubtedly learn something.

© by Andrea Kay