Ivy League online degrees

[MedInformatics]

I noticed this thread and thought i'd chime in amongst all the bickering.

I served in the military from 2002-2008 and if it weren't for online education I would have never been able to acheive what I have in that span. When I first started college I went to Hawaii Pacific University's Monoa Campus on the island of Oahu. I took 4 classes and each semester was 12 weeks long. I typically had class about 3-5 times a week and didn't really get much from the courses.

About the same time those courses ended I signed up for four of their eight week accelerated online courses in physics, statistics, calc-1 and psychology. I don't know how many of you can recall these courses but they are not easy by any means and learning them online is a whole differen't ball game. I mean you are trying to learn them without much help from a professor and crunching 12 weeks worth of work into 8 doesn't make it easier. Oh and did I mention the tons of home work, reading, proctored exams and the thought of me getting any less than a C in any of these courses constituted me to pay back Uncle Sam face value for the courses? How about the fact my wife and I both worked 10-12 hours a day and had a family?

It sounds as if some of you never took an online class but want to judge it simply because you are looking at them out of context. They aren't made for the typical bachelor, they're made for professionals and dedicated family men that need flexibility. Sure some colleges let bachelors take the courses but the colleges I attended made sure you had at least 2 years of work experienece before you were able to attend online courses.

Oh, did I mention that some of the more prestigious schools have gotten more "brick and mortar" like when it comes to online programs? I just started the Medical Informatics Master's program at Northwestern online and it's no joke. I'm only taking two classes every 10 weeks but we have class for 2 and a half hours twice a week, tons of reading, tons of homework, group projects, papers and proctored exams during that span. Did I mention my wife and I are both still working and have 2 kids?

Oh and I almost forgot my Six Sigma Master Cert I took through Villanova--all Online. It was one of the toughest courses i've ever accomplished and very expensive. Granted, if you wanted to take advantage of their system the opportunity was there but I doubt anyone takes a 10k certification course to learn Six Sigma without attending the lectures and doing the home work.

Let me ask you brick and mortar guys this. If you had to choose to hire or work with a particular job candidate which would you choose: A recent college graduate from a brick and mortar institution or someone who has an online degree with six years military training, leadership/followership skills and/or real world work experience? The choice seems pretty easy to me but i'm curious to see what others would choose.