Employers Welcoming Candidates with Degrees Earned Online

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Jennifer Brady

UMassOnline Jennifer Brady The results of a new study measuring employer attitudes toward, and perceptions of, potential employees with educational credentials earned online won’t surprise anyone who has taken an online course through UMassOnline.

Online degrees are no longer causing red flags on resumes for employers. In fact, many attributes of the online learner are what employers seek. They want lifelong learners, self-motivated workers, and critical thinkers — all of which apply to online learners.

That’s the opening paragraph in this Market Watch posting of a press release describing the study and offering free access to a white paper about it titled “Online Degrees Make the Grade: Employer Acceptance Now Common.”

I have to include a great quote from the paper that I couldn’t agree with more, “People working all day and studying online all night have the kind of grrr most companies could use.” —Jack & Suzy Welch, The Welch Way.

You can download this white paper at this website.

For the record, unlike some purely online colleges, UMassOnline doesn’t grant degrees, credits or certificates. These are earned and awarded by and through the University of Massachusetts campus offering the program and taught by faculty members that provide traditional instruction throughout our system’s traditional classrooms. UMassOnline facilitates access to, and development of, online programs on behalf of the University of Massachusetts system and its faculty. That’s exactly why we often say, “UMassOnline is UMass.”