Wow, judging by the number of replies this is a topic that a lot of people have given thought to. I guess all things being equal I would tend towards the traditional student because going to a school shows a level of dedication and socialization that may not be true by the on line person.
One additional factor would be if other classes were required at the traditional school that an online program might not--I would be more likely to hire someone who had a course in English writing or Excel since they seem to have more potential to do well and move up. But perhaps that's just my old fashioned view.
If I knew the online studier was juggling family/carer etc. issues that the student at a school wasn't that might tip things the other way--but how would one know without asking borderline illegal questions?
Fatmata:
Administering a pre-test to assess entry level knowledge and skills will provide you with the kinds of information you require to identify the specific needs of individual students.
Satrohan
Yes, I would but I will check the online school and the programs that they offered to make sure they met the four major criteris for online programs and I will also give each candiate a test on bookkeeping to assess their abilities on the bookkeeping concepts.
Christine:
Quite correct. Motivation, discipline, as well as time management contribute to making a student a successful online learner in an online environment.
This is a classic question I usually ask when I interview Instructional Designers for my team. Sometimes I get a straight "No" as an answer. other times, I get "It Depends" followed by an explanation. Most of the responses I have received seem to point in the direction that if the consequencs of error on the job is grave, one would be less inclined to hire someone graduating from an online program without conducting certain tests to verify that the applicant possesses the knowledge and skills to perform the duties associated with the job.
I have had one candidate who, instead of answering the uestion, asked me how comfortable I would be if I were to choose a Dentist who graduated from and online course.
Satrohan
I agree. Someone who has completed coursework online must possess self-motivation and self-discipline. Therefore, I would not be more inclined to hire the traditional college grad over an online grad.
Yes, I would considering hiring anyone who had gotten their education online. I would assess the validity of the school's program for online just as I would for a tradtional school. The most important thing to consider when hiring an individual is their knowledge not where they went to school.
I have worked with individuals that have a degree from a tradtional college and online. I have found in my expereinces that the online educated employee is just a knowledgable and more willing to adapt to changes in the work place. Now, I do not know that taking their classes online is why they adapt better to change but I have see it enough times to wonder.
A good education is not just obtaining by a person in school. What you get from your education is what you put into it. I have seen good and bad employees come from each type of insitution.
A student can choose how much time and effort they want to dedicate to their education in either scenario. I'd say people get out of a course what they put into it...no matter whether it's an online or traditional delivery format.
All other qualities being equal, I would hire the candidate who received her credentials through traditional education because I would be more confident in her competency.
I guess I would agree. I believe one would have to be very disciplined, and be willing to become an active learner. I have not had the opportunity to take any online accounting courses.
Jan
Jan,
You are not alone in how you feel about quality issues in online education. In some cases, I would have to agree with you.
I also have a degree in accounting from a traditional college and, until a few years ago, I felt that the education I received was preferable to an online degree. Then I took an online accounting class.
I found that online learning forced me to take responsibility for my own learning. I transformed from a passive learner, who is fed information, to an active learner, who seeks information and learning opportunities.
Some say that online learning has the potential to offer a deeper learning experience. Do you agree?
:)
Jane
I would have to say that as of today, even though online classses have come a long way in educating people, I think there are going to be a great many more strides taken in this field. Today I would hire the individual from the traditional college, especially in the field of accounting. If it were another field, I may feel differently. I received my accounting degree from a traditional college and I can't say for sure that I would have gotten the same level of instruction from taking an online course. In years to come, like I said I think this will change dramatically and believe we will see very qualified candidates emerging from the ranks of an online college in the accounting field.
Jan O'Donnell
I agree. It would be important to make sure that the online course they were claiming was in existance and accredited
Yes. If this candidate contained all of the necessary requirements for the position than there would be no reason not to hire that person.
There are advantages and disadvantages of Online vs Traditional:
Online you can go at your pace but dead line must be met.Online no face to face instructor, but through email and telephone conversation, but at times there is a broken link between the message and interpretation. On the other hand, Traditional classroom students are much more communicative with their instructors, better clarification on subject matter, etc. Classroom setting I think you are more open for class discussion versus online because if you have to reply on one or two post, that's it., but in classroom, students are constantly engaging especially if there are a number of points are allocated for Class Participation.
For online degrees, as a CEO I think I will hire the applicant who is more qualified, experience, and have a high degree of ethical and moral values/standards no matter if the applicant degree is through Online or from Traditional Classroom.
Who do you think is more ethical, Taditional Classroom Students or Online Students?
Jai
You are correct! Competencies skills are the best ingredients to be successful academics, hence, it also propel your personal life as a competitive individual with the ability to have the competitive advantage over others in most discipline such as accounting.
Jai
Jane,
Accounting is such a introverted discipline type field, it will take someone that has developed those skills and they can be acquire on-line as well as in an traditional academia setting. What is needed is the right skills to do the job, test that.
Hi Brad,
You bring up a number of good points in your post. First of all, you are correct... the hypothetical situation isn't very realistic. Would you expect the applicants to have different characteristics because of their choice of training modality? If so, what might those differences be?
Second, online education is more accepted now than five years ago; however, it still isn't accepted by all. What improvements do you believe need to be done in order to increase online education's acceptance?
Thanks for your input :) Jane
I think we are past the point that online education is inherently labeled as "substandard", but I dont think it is by very much. I think there are still many people who are very skeptical about it, and would not necessarily be displeased if online education's reputation was soured.
To the original question: Even though this is hypothetical I am having a difficult time allowing online vs. traditional be the deciding factor. There are so many other things that could enter the equation I am resisting the thought that all other things could really be equal. But, IF they were all equal (social skills, technical skills, computer skills, community work, industry relation and participation, awards won, languages spoken, etc...), IF each applicant had the same outcomes from their education at the same levels of proficiency, I would probably flip a coin.
I am not trying to be difficult ;). Really. I just feel that if all things were equal then it truly does not matter where they were trained.
Brad,
The original question was asking if, all else being equal, you would choose a job candidate that attended traditional classes over the job candidate that was trained online.
I remember a time when online education was thought to be substandard. Are we past that now? I am interested in your thoughts
:) Jane
I agree completely with Peter. I dont think it should become a deciding factor unless there are clear aspects of online learning that would be required in the position.
Online learning certainly demonstrates a high level of discipline, self-moivation, and character, but so do many other things in life (e.g. running a marathon, volunteering for community organizations, miltary service, etc...)
