Online degrees

[bchip]

Hi

Was just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on online learning, specifically the degrees.
I've noticed that it comes down to either Coursera or Edux, as these 2 are backed by large institutions.
(These two have actual gradings/tests, versus udemy seems to only be videos which obviously anyone can do)

Initially I was just looking for a few courses but then I noticed you can now do full degrees through this.
These degrees are backed by
University of Illinios
Stanford University
University of Michigan
University of London
University of Pennsylvania (Penn University)

Bachelor of Computer Science

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science | University of London

Master cutting-edge programming skills and prepare for a high-growth tech career with an online Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of London with academic direction from Goldsmiths.

www.coursera.org

Master's degrees seem to be quite big on this as well

Just wondering has anyone considered these yet? Worked with someone that has done them?
Hired someone that has done this?

 

[Napalm2880]

I'd imagine that these courses would be quickly dismissed or treated with skepticism by local employers. You're much better off getting a degree at a local university - even if it's at a lower standard.

Employers see hundreds of CVs for a position and don't put in much effort into reading (or understanding) your CV. If anything is amiss, they turf it in the bin and if you do make it into an interview you don't want to be on the back foot with them questioning your qualifications.

 

[bchip]

I'd imagine that these courses would be quickly dismissed or treated with skepticism by local employers. You're much better off getting a degree at a local university - even if it's at a lower standard.

Employers see hundreds of CVs for a position and don't put in much effort into reading (or understanding) your CV. If anything is amiss, they turf it in the bin and if you do make it into an interview you don't want to be on the back foot with them questioning your qualifications.

I'm referring to the degrees, not the courses.
As with the bachelors above, you study for 3-6 years, its graded by professors and
its backed by the University of London.
It is akin to have studied at UNISA (as in through correspondence)

 

[cguy]

Online degrees are an absolute maze of accreditation confusion. "Backed by" means next to nothing. You have to find out how the specific degree is accredited, and how well recognized that accrediting body actually is. Some of them are accredited through the same institution as the brick and mortar university and the degree makes no mention of distance learning (ideal), while others will accredit it from the the same brick and mortar university's accreditation, but the degree is annotated as a distance degree (less ideal). Others use specific distance learning accreditation bodies (even less ideal), and others will use some accreditation body that also accredits a BSc in Golf Management (google it, it's a thing).

In general, I would say, find the course you find most interesting, and spend a good amount of time researching both the course and the institution, and remember that them mentioning "accredited" somewhere, really isn't enough.

 

[bchip]

Online degrees are an absolute maze of accreditation confusion. "Backed by" means next to nothing...

Thanks, very helpful.
I'm not looking to register, I just do some of the short courses myself.
I'm just interested as I know a few people getting to that age and weighing up studying in SA for
a few years vs rather studying through these ones.

 

[cguy]

Thanks, very helpful.
I'm not looking to register, I just do some of the short courses myself.
I'm just interested as I know a few people getting to that age and weighing up studying in SA for
a few years vs rather studying through these ones.

I expect that it is going to become a better and better option for South Africans. I just wish the institutions/courses were somehow ranked by accreditation quality on a global list somewhere to make it easier for people to navigate.

To your questions, I know a few people who have done these kinds of courses, but none of them went off to work in any big tech companies or banks or such. Nobody I have worked with has ever done a degree by correspondence (that I know of), and no one with such qualifications has passed any of our prescreens yet. This isn't to say that the correspondence degree itself is the causal factor - here in the US, correspondence is somewhat of a last resort (usually regarded as much farther down the ladder than UNISA is regarded in SA). Ideally, this wouldn't be the case, and we wouldn't have $1.5T in student debt. I expect that as the student debt starts to take its toll, and as technology becomes more ubiquitous, the trend will be towards more people going the correspondence route worldwide in the future.

 

[Napalm2880]

I'm referring to the degrees, not the courses.
As with the bachelors above, you study for 3-6 years, its graded by professors and
its backed by the University of London.
It is akin to have studied at UNISA (as in through correspondence)

I work at a large corporate and have attended about 15 interviews in the last 3 months. I can tell you now that a degree from Walter Sisulu Univerity is worth more in the eyes of our HR and my line manager than any online degree. I'm not saying it's right. It's just that they view all online degrees as "Udemy" and if you're lucky enough to land an interview you will be stuck in a conversation around accreditation rather than be in a position to highlight your work experience.

 

[bchip]

I work at a large corporate and have attended about 15 interviews in the last 3 months. I can tell you now that a degree from Walter Sisulu Univerity is worth more in the eyes of our HR and my line manager than any online degree. I'm not saying it's right. It's just that they view all online degrees as "Udemy" and if you're lucky enough to land an interview you will be stuck in a conversation around accreditation rather than be in a position to highlight your work experience.

Pity though.

 

[Ancalagon]

I work at a large corporate and have attended about 15 interviews in the last 3 months. I can tell you now that a degree from Walter Sisulu Univerity is worth more in the eyes of our HR and my line manager than any online degree. I'm not saying it's right. It's just that they view all online degrees as "Udemy" and if you're lucky enough to land an interview you will be stuck in a conversation around accreditation rather than be in a position to highlight your work experience.

It might take a few years for that to change. My guess would be that the optimal combination would be a university degree (even Unisa), plus some coursera and udemy courses to suggest continuing professional development, plus good experience, plus a good github profile.

 

[WAslayer]

Looking at this, if you study for the London university BSc, you would get the same degree as someone who graduates on campus.. but I want to research more to verify this to be the case..

What i did note, any module requiring a exam to be written, you would need to travel to Joburg or Durban to write if you aren't living there already.. this does add to the total cost of the degree..

 

[konfab]

I know dealing with UNISA is a bureaucratic PITA, but my wife has just registered for a Bsc in Mathematics and Computer Science. The curriculum they have presented really isn't a pushover (she will have a better understanding of maths than me at the end of it if I look at some of those third year modules involving real and complex analysis). I am just wondering why someone would go for a degree in a completely different country if what is available in SA is pretty decent.

 

[cguy]

I know dealing with UNISA is a bureaucratic PITA, but my wife has just registered for a Bsc in Mathematics and Computer Science. The curriculum they have presented really isn't a pushover (she will have a better understanding of maths than me at the end of it if I look at some of those third year modules involving real and complex analysis). I am just wondering why someone would go for a degree in a completely different country if what is available in SA is pretty decent.

One of the biggest challenges overseas for UNISA graduates is that so many people dismiss the degree if they find out it was via correspondence. "I got a correspondence degree from an African university", doesn't sound so great overseas, when in reality it is much better than the vast majority of online degrees out there because it is the same curriculum, marked by the same people as the physical university, and in the same way. It can even get lumped together with degree mills that will just give you a degree certificate for having "life experience".

 

[Joeboy69]

I finished a M.Phil at Tukkies last year. As part of the entrance requirement we had to do an online course at EdX. This course was free but offered the option of paying to get a certificate emailed. It is linked to Columbia University. So it seems that at universities they are starting to take the online courses a bit more seriously.

 

[Messugga]

I'm busy with a Master's via University of Edinburgh. You have the same schedule, the same assignments, the same staff, the same everything when studying via correspondence as on the campus. Hell, my last module didn't even have the option for physical classes, even people at the university campus had to attend online sessions.
It seems to be gaining traction as a model.

 

[Fcon_Vpro]

Hi

Was just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on online learning, specifically the degrees.
I've noticed that it comes down to either Coursera or Edux, as these 2 are backed by large institutions.
(These two have actual gradings/tests, versus udemy seems to only be videos which obviously anyone can do)

Initially I was just looking for a few courses but then I noticed you can now do full degrees through this.
These degrees are backed by
University of Illinios
Stanford University
University of Michigan
University of London
University of Pennsylvania (Penn University)

Bachelor of Computer Science

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science | University of London

Master cutting-edge programming skills and prepare for a high-growth tech career with an online Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of London with academic direction from Goldsmiths.

www.coursera.org

View attachment 762870

Master's degrees seem to be quite big on this as well

Just wondering has anyone considered these yet? Worked with someone that has done them?
Hired someone that has done this?

I considered the University of London option last year April. However the price was R60000 per annum which was a bit steep for me at the time.
I ended up going with UNISA at a quarter of the price.
So far UNISA has been pretty decent for the proper science/math related courses in comparison to what I did in my days at RAU(UJ).
However, for the generic modules that they make compulsory for students, such as "Ethical Information and Communication Technologies", the information/course is terrible. I hated it last semester.
So far I am happy with UNISA but im worried about how it will be perceived overseas, however I will have a lot of experience to back up the degree.

 

[konfab]

One of the biggest challenges overseas for UNISA graduates is that so many people dismiss the degree if they find out it was via correspondence. "I got a correspondence degree from an African university", doesn't sound so great overseas, when in reality it is much better than the vast majority of online degrees out there because it is the same curriculum, marked by the same people as the physical university, and in the same way. It can even get lumped together with degree mills that will just give you a degree certificate for having "life experience".

So maybe the best option is to attach the course curriculum to your CV if you have a UNISA degree .

 

[cguy]

So maybe the best option is to attach the course curriculum to your CV if you have a UNISA degree .

My recommendation for overseas would be to consider omitting work experience during the degree, or just don’t date the degree at all.

 

[bchip]

Saw this today

Online Computer Science Degrees | Coursera

Earn a computer science degree online from accredited universities on Coursera. Compare bachelor’s and online master’s programs, explore in-demand skills, and find the right fit.

www.coursera.org

Master of Computer and Information Technology
University of Pennsylvania





The price at R340k though...

 

[cguy]

Saw this today

Online Computer Science Degrees | Coursera

Earn a computer science degree online from accredited universities on Coursera. Compare bachelor’s and online master’s programs, explore in-demand skills, and find the right fit.

www.coursera.org

Master of Computer and Information Technology
University of Pennsylvania

View attachment 763440

View attachment 763442

The price at R340k though...

And also, from their website:

The only online Ivy League master’s degree in Computer Science designed for students without a Computer Science background.

You’re basically paying R340k for a masters degree that the average Wits CS Honours graduate will probably wipe the floor with.

The curriculum looks like essentially1/6th of my 3-year undergraduate degree. (The first 1/6th)

 

[gkm]

I stopped reading at "Peer-Graded Assignment". That means you have to pay and you have to do all the work for yourself and for other students. And from what I heard about these peer grading things, your "peers" are seldom motivated to do proper grading, which means you get worthless feedback, so you would be better off just reading a book on the subject. (And save a bit of money and frustration.)