Are online schools frowned upon for msn?

DayOhioRn · Nov 7, 2010

I am a Master's Degree student at Indiana Wesleyan University. I have obtained my BS there online, and am currently obtaining a Master's Degree in Nursing Education online there as well. Employers look at your diploma and not whether or not you obtained your degree online. Online programs are not for the disorganized! 100% of your course work is in written form, and you must have a good grasp on written class discussions, APA format and the discipline to do your work!

It is my suggestion that you look into each program individually and ask the questions such as accreditation, reputation, and coursework.

I wish you luck as you pursue a higher degree!

bear1111 · Nov 7, 2010

This is a really good question and some research needs to be done. The most important thing you need to look at is, Is the school nationally and regionally accredited? A lot of online schools and career schools are only nationally accredited and are not regionally accredited. All MSN programs required a degree that is both nationally and regionally. So, there are a few ways around this... For example, you could receive your ADN at any career college or online college that is only nationally accredited, after the ADN is completed the degree can be transferred to University of Phoenix to complete your BSN. Not many other schools besides UofP accept degrees from only nationally accredited schools, at least that I know of. After your BSN is completed you can transfer that degree to a MSN or FNP program. I would advise against this method because you still have to take a lot of prereq classes to get into your program that you didn't get through you career college or online school. Check with the online school to find out if they are regionally accredited and go from there. In my opinion, it is better not to take short cuts, I have been burned before and you just end up losing time and money. Hope this helps.

Marshall1 · Nov 7, 2010

I'm currently enrolled in an online Masters Program. As long as the school you choose is accredited you will have no problem. By accreditation I mean for nursing. I love going online - works very well for my schedule and seems to move faster than traditional brick and mortar classes - Good luck! :up:

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Nov 7, 2010

I think if it's a good school that isn't completely known just for online degrees (like UoP, Devry, etc.) A lot of traditional state universities are offering online programs, and that is the route I'd take. The degree is indistinguishable from the one they hand the traditional students.

I believe this is the way to go to until the jury comes back on these for-profit, online universities like UoP.

Spacklehead, MSN, NP · Nov 7, 2010

Just a thought to put out there - employers can pretty much assume that you have attended an online degree program if on your resume you list that you live/work in one state and then your degree program is several states away and you are doing both during the same time frame.

For example - Sue lives in NY; currently works at ABC Hospital in NYC from 2007-Present; also currently attends University of South Alabama for her MSN degree as a FNP.

Not that this is a bad thing; but don't assume that future employers won't figure it out.

greenfiremajick · Nov 7, 2010

Hello everyone.
I am looking to do an ADN to MSN completion to a FNP. I live in Indiana and am wondering if going to the University of Southern Indiana would be better than going to Western Governors University in a hiring aspect? U of Southern Indiana is a brick and mortar college and I think that Western Governors University is more of an online college, like University of Phoenix (forgive me if I am wrong). Are hiring managers and hospitals becoming more open minded about the whole "online" aspect of education or not? Both schools are CCNE accredited. I would like all the input on this matter as possible so that I can make an educated decision on this. Thanks.

I have to say that comparing WGU to U of P is an insult. WGU is a very good school. I agree with the other posters, in that online schools are seen as valid, competent institutions giving a degree that will be respected. BUT WGU is no cakewalk, so be prepared to study and work hard.

And yes, WGU IS appropriately accredited.

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Nov 7, 2010

I honestly believe the jury is still out on all the online only schools, including WGU. That is not to say that WGU isn't a great education.. or that ALL of them should be lumped together. (UoP has the same accreditation as WGU, FWIW)

What I mean by 'the jury being out' is that it's so mixed right now the opinions and 'worthiness' of online degrees when it comes to employers.. we just don't know if they will be worth their high price tag 10 years from now or if employers are still going to be looking at the degree laughing as it goes in the shredder.

Not all employers discriminate against online colleges.. but not all employers accept them either. Why limit yourself- is my opinion.. especially when you consider what the price tag for these universities are.

WGU, UoP, DeVry, etc. etc. etc... they are all non-traditional, online, accredited institutions of education. While that sounds like it 'should' be enough to be respected, it too often is not.

That is why I always recommend a B&M college's online program. Yes, an employer looking deeper into a potential employee will figure out that if you earned your degree from the University of Texas while living and working full time in Colorado, you probably did it online. However, many employers wouldn't even look that deep into an application if it had UoP on it.. so you got a step further in the process, right?

Personally, I'd stick with a local school (I know that isn't possible everywhere) not only for that reason but to get the instate/in district tuition.

Now- if employers REALLY wanted to do their homework they could look up what universities offer all online programs and draw their own conclusions from there.. but I don't think most will go that far once the initial weeding out of undesired applications has been done. And at this time, whether people want to admit it or not, fair or not, a lot of online degrees get weeded out before the candidates name is ever even read.

This is all just my opinion, FWIW.

Moogie · Nov 7, 2010

I attend a brick and mortar school that has its graduate programs online. As a previous poster said, online education is not for the disorganized. You need to be a self-motivated, disciplined worker to get through an online program.

Having said that, one huge challenge of online education is that you don't have face time with your instructors or classmates. I have found that I've gotten pretty close to a few classmates---more so than when I was attending a traditional graduate program---but I still miss the in-person contact with my instructors. I've gotten to meet a few of my profs face-to-face and that has helped me to feel connected. So a lot depends on your needs. If you're okay with virtual relationships, you might not feel isolated doing an online program but if you really need to have in-person contact, you might feel like you're out on your own in cyberspace.

Regarding employment, I have colleagues who graduated from the University of Phoenix and have had no trouble getting hired for nurse educator positions that require a master's degree in nursing.

TDCHIM · Nov 7, 2010

I think if it's a good school that isn't completely known just for online degrees (like UoP, Devry, etc.) A lot of traditional state universities are offering online programs, and that is the route I'd take. The degree is indistinguishable from the one they hand the traditional students.
I believe this is the way to go to until the jury comes back on these for-profit, online universities like UoP.

I firmly agree. I'm pursuing a bachelor's degree through a state school in my home state via online means. My diploma will be the same as that given to an on-campus student with my GPA. I researched my program carefully before I joined it. Among other points, I made sure it was properly accredited, recognized by the governing body of my field, and had a good pass rate of my credentialing exam as well as a strong placement rate of graduates. There are a lot of terrific online programs run by traditional universities, and those offered by state schools are usually far more reasonably priced than the for-profit online-only "schools." The are probably some good online-only schools out there, but until the market sorts them out and puts an end to most of the rest, I'd suggest you stick to online programs offered by traditional universities.

Here's another reason to be careful about online-only schools: the feds are about to start penalizing those that are producing substantial numbers of graduates who don't pay off their loans. Those institutions will no longer be eligible to receive federal aid. The impact on you will probably be less, given that you're pursuing an advanced degree, but that should tell you something about those places in general. Here is a link to another AllNurses thread that might be useful to you in your research: https://allnurses.com/nursing-news/new-regulations-will-493470.html

I'd also suggest looking at the Student section of the site, specifically in the Distance Learning forum, for more information.

Blackheartednurse · Nov 7, 2010

I cant be much of help in regards to this issue but currently I'm enrolled in ADN to BSN at Kaplan University I start November 10.I choose an online program because it was convenient,I already feel challenged as I was told I have to be proficient in powerpoint,excel and know APA guidelines, like someone else stated I dont believe that online programs are easier,also I'm thinking about getting Master in Nursing but I want to be a nurse practitioner later down the road and Kaplan University only offers a Master in Informatics,Education and Administration so if I decide to become a nurse practitioner I will have to transfer to another expensive online school to get my APN or FNP (downfall of expensive online universities)

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Nov 7, 2010

I don't know if anyone cares at all, so long as it is a recognized and respected institution in the first place.