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Online MBA Degrees: Cyber-Scam or Modern Miracle?

Ah, how thing change. Over the last 400 years, Western civilization has witnessed one educational revolution after another. For 17th-century job seekers, professional training was limited at best. If you were lucky, you could maybe land an apprenticeship as a chimneysweep or freemason. And with institutionalized gender inequality, the best that women could hope for was a profitable, if personally dissatisfying, marriage.

The 19th century brought the gradual democratization of universities and trade schools. And in the 20th century, universal public education took hold in Europe and North America.

Then along came the internet, and turned everything on its head. The doors of higher education were thrown wide open. And suddenly, career opportunities once favored by the well-heeled elite became available to the masses.

For many, the 21st century represents a sort of Golden Age of education. With online programs for high school, college, and graduate students, education is literally within the reach of anyone with a computer. And with online MBA degrees, working adults can now attain higher social and professional status from the comfort of home.

But not all online MBAs are created equal. Like any profitable sector of the economy, online MBA programs have spawned their share of charlatans and fly-by-night scam artists. Some online diploma mills offer 30-day degree programs for anyone with a valid credit card. And when asked, hiring managers consistently rank publicly-traded, for-profit institutions such as Capella and University of Phoenix at the bottom in terms of credibility.

So are online MBA degrees worth the paper they're printed on? Absolutely. The key is earning your online MBA from an accredited, well-established institution. And preferably one that's been around awhile.

In 1989, Vicky Phillips, CEO of GetEducated.com, began tracking online MBA programs. And over the years a clear trend has emerged. According to Phillips, "Universities that lack a brick-and-mortar legacy...earn the lowest approval marks. While Americans generally love new products and services, higher education is one area where historical longevity breeds consumer trust and confidence."

Schools like Pennsylvania's Scranton University, founded in 1888, fit the bill perfectly. Employers need to know that the degree-granting institution takes higher learning seriously. And a long history of brick-and-mortar education is the hallmark of that commitment.

Another smart strategy is to obtain an online MBA degree from a local college or university. If you live and work in Pennsylvania while simultaneously earning a degree in Alabama, there's a pretty good chance employers will question your degree. You're better off earning your online MBA from a smaller local college than at a bigger university halfway across the country.

In a recent survey by Vault.com, 86 percent of employers reported a positive impression of online degrees, especially those issued by reputable institutions. So if you're hesitant about earning your online MBA, you can lay your worries to rest. Just adhere to the following checklist and your career opportunities will be off the charts. When enrolling for an online MBA make sure that your school is:

• Local
• Accredited
• And historically well-established

Take care of those three things and you'll be just fine. And as you slave away writing papers and essays, just remember things could be worse. You could be a chimneysweep. Or a freemason, even. Kind of makes those essay exams a little more appealing, doesn't it?

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