Although online education has been introduced for such as long time, there are still many misconceptions and myths about online education program. The myths if not cleared might affecting your decision if you are considering pursuing your degree online. Here are the facts for the common myths that you may heard before:
Myth:
Degrees earned through online format are not as valuable as traditional degree programs.
Fact:
The myth may be true during the initial introduction of online education, but the 2 digits growth rate in the past 20 years has shown online study format has gained it popularity. The proper accreditation by the accrediting agencies approved by Department of Education that guarantees on it education quality has made online degree no difference than the traditional degree. The online degrees are widely accepted in the job market. What the employers concern is the fake degrees issued by diploma mills. As long as your degree is from legitimate and properly accredited university, then it has no difference whether your degree is earned through online or campus-based university.
Myth:
Online learning is easier than a traditional campus-based education
Fact:
Both online and offline learning are the same in term of courses. Many brick and mortar universities are offering the same degree they offer offline to online students, same courses with same total credit hours to complete the degree program. Although there are fast track degrees where you can waive some credits with your life experience in the related field, online learning does require a considerable amount of time and effort. The online learning may look easier as it provides you with the flexibility and convenient learning environment where you can learn from your comfort home and at your own schedule.
Myth:
Online courses cannot transfer to other colleges.
Fact:
You will face the difficulties to transfer the courses to other colleges if you are getting online degree from unaccredited university. If you attend online courses offered by an accredited school, you should have not problem to transfer the courses to other colleges. But credit transfer will largely depend on the admission office regardless of online or offline courses, you should check for the feasibility of transfer credits during the enrollment process.
Myth:
Online learning program means that you can complete fast.
Fact:
Due to most online learning programs allow you to plan your own time that fit into your own schedule. If you can spare more time to speed up your learning process, then you can complete the education program faster then the required completion duration. But if you are a busy working individual who can only spend very minimum time on your study, then you may take a longer time to complete the courses. Hence, in the self-paced online learning environment, you are the one who can decide how fast you want to complete your courses.
Summary
Don’t just make your decision to go for online or campus-based degree program based on the myths, get yourself understand the fact of each myths and decide which learning media is best suit you.
