Although this is changing, they are not regarded with the same cachet as physical colleges and universities.

You can always look to see what colleges and universities have online programs. A lot of schools these days have online programs. Then your resume would just list the schools name and it wouldn’t say anything about being online and an employer would just see it as a regular school.

As for actual online schools, it depends on the school. You have to research their accreditation and it’s also important to research if the credits you get from them can transfer to another school should you want to pursue a higher degree in the future.

I think the stigma, for lack of a better word, is lessening. So many adults can really benefit from online colleges. Going to a brick and mortar school is part of the college experience, but working adults aren’t concerned with that as much as getting an education and degree.

Be careful with whichever you choose and make sure they’re accredited. Some of your local universities may offer online degrees, which IMO is even better. Good luck!

Some employers do, but then again, some employers frown on people who didn’t go to Harvard, Yale, or Princeton.

@CaptainHarley Good point!!!! It’s all relative.

This is really just my opinion and a little bit of second hand opinions of higher up managers I’ve heard…. But it goes like this….

1) Ivy League degrees
2a) Well known non-Ivy league (your Penn States, Ohio States, Floridas)
2b) Lesser known non-Ivy league (your Appalachian States, Jacksonville States)
3) Online degrees.

Distant 4th) No Degree

If you take online courses for a masters degree it looks better than having taken no masters courses at all.

Contrary to some earlier postings, there is not necessarily any difference between an Ivy League education and an online degree. Why? Because most of the Ivy League universities now offer online degrees. Columbia University for instance offers more than 30 online degrees. Many colleges don’t distinguish between their online and on-ground degrees so a Columbia University online degree is the same as a Columbia University on-ground degree, and unless you tell them, employers don’t have a way to distinguish that fact. An intelligent employer however knows the difference between an ivy league education (whether online or not) and a no-name fly-by-night college that hands out to degrees to anyone who can pay the tuition. These days it’s most important to consider the school’s reputation and their accreditation (Regional accreditation such as “Middle States” is best); whether it’s online or not is much less a factor.
http://www.online-college-blog.com/index.php/online-college-reviews/ivy-league-universities-now-offer-online-degrees-and-certificates/

Any college is better than no college, if online school suites your lifestyle better then by all means do it.

Even if certain work places look less about online school not all do.
Also it depends on the field you are going into, the best advice is to verify the accreditation of the school.

http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
Check this site, maybe it will help out a little.

Speaking as a hiring manager, I tend to be more impressed by a person’s type of education rather than where he/she got it.

Hands-on is always going to be seen as “better”.

But, anything is better then nothing.

Not anymore, but reputation of online universities is even more important.