[FloridaTish]

This isn't specifically in reference to the Harvard issue, but I deal with online students every day so I thought I'd chime in.

I think that many people have a preconcieved notion of online degrees being on the same level as an old school correspondence course. In this day and age that just isn't true anymore. I work at a university and in addition to our "brick and mortar" campus, we have a School of Extended Graduate Studies that offers a select number of Masters degrees online and it is a very labor intensive program. This program enable many, many students to continue on with their education from a highly accredited school while they work a full time job. A number of students are military officers serving overseas who are trying to get their masters in logistics management or a PMBA and have had to deal with relocating around the country and don't have access to a local college to complete their degree.

I deal with these students on a daily basis and they are not looking for the easy way out...they're just looking to finish their education at quality schools like Tulane, Villanova, Florida Institute of Technology, Notre Dame, Jacksonville Univeristy, Univ. of Scranton, St. Leo University, Regis Univeristy and many more.

These are not just continuing education programs. They are legitimate degrees (and quite costly, as most the schools are private institutions) and we are by no means a diploma mill. Students work hard for their degree.

Colleges and Univeristies are just taking advantage of the technology that has evolved over the last 2 decades. Who is to say that an education earned & honestly worked for online is any less in value than having attended on a campus? The classes are taught by the same teachers. It's not like they dumb down the online classes.

Additionally, HR people are very aware of the evolution of online degrees and it is not always an instantaneious negative reflection
on the student if it was achieved online.