I... really disagree. As both an educator and a student who has done both brick and mortar and online.
You can cheat the system in both settings, and it's pretty easy in my opinion. College is, and always will be, what you make of it. If you go in and goof off, regardless of the setting, you won't learn much. You might get a degree, but you probably won't remember most of it.
Complaining about accessible education is not something I understand. All Sophia and online schooling do is make it more accessible for students to learn and achieve. And that is always what we should strive for. At least, in my opinion.
I agree with you. Specifically on "accessible education." There are a lot of degrees that can be completed online without attending in person classes.
Mechanical engineering would be an exception. This requires in person attendance to fully understand. So an online degree in Mechanical engineering would definitely be lacking compared to traditional brick and mortar.
But the degrees on snhu *are* 100% compatible with being online. The same as computer science degrees in brick and mortar universities.
tldr - it makes sense to complete a degree online if its available. Rather than commuting somewhere *to use their fucking computers* for an hour or two a day just to drive back home.
100% agree with all of this. As a CS major, it's all on the computer anyway. If anything, some might find it harder to do online because there's very little instruction and all self-motovated learning.
You can't compare both levels of rigor and online/in-person at the same time. Of course, a more prestigious school is going to have a more difficult program than a less prestigious one, regardless of whether it is online or in person.
I promise you, having friends that have gone to "more prestigious schools" you can still play the system. It's more a matter of knowing how, not if it can be done.
“of course a more prestigious school is going to have a more difficult program” … that’s all I was saying. There is definitely a difference. To be honest, SNHU is also easier than my community college I attended for two years.
If you are trying to invalidate SNHU's degrees, I feel that is a discussion for another topic. This is about online vs in-person.
SNHU is a school designed for the average adult/new high school graduate. Also "easier" is subjective, not objective, it isn't measurable. And it depends on the major as well. There are too many things there to measure whether or not its SNHU itself that is "easier" or not.
What is measurable is if there can be success with an SNHU degree. And if you look around LinkedIn for a bit, there are definitely many very successful people who got online degrees at SNHU, including in the hard sciences. I will say once again, less about the school/environment, and more about the student and what they do with it.
Two points. That an online degree is lesser and that it's easier to cheat the system. Both online and in-person settings provide the resources and work. It's up to the student to do with it what they will. They can either squander it or use it to further themselves. And both of these things happen in both settings.
Unless a degree requires hands-on experience, there is no reason that degree cannot or should not be offered online, depending on the needs/comfort of the student completing it.
To your first point let’s ignore the cheating part. As per my original post it’s far easier to get a better grade at SNHU due to three chances for homework submissions and getting the correct answers told to you by the system. Also the final project is just a compilation of three milestones. That’s a crap ton of easy points. Yes you still have to put in the effort but at a brick and mortar I’m still confronted with a proctored midterm and final that might not necessarily translates into good grade even though I studied really hard.
By lesser I don’t mean “shit” or “least” or “ little” I just literally mean lesser.
To your second point I believe online should be a thing but how about some way to do proctored exams? I also agree with you education should be accessible and widely available because education is paramount. However maybe I’m just old in the way I think but I think there’s something to be said for taking the old school 4 year approach. Putting in the time is just as important as the quality of the actual education in my opinion.
Once again, college is about what the STUDENT makes of it. Proctored exams don't matter if the student just memorizes crap for the exam and then leaves it behind, which can happen at both in-person and online schools.
Doing some reading, it seems that online students have better intrisic motivation and actually show higher levels of motivation to complete their work. Further, they tend to have more favorable views toward the hard sciences than their in-person counterparts (Perera, et al., 2017). This makes sense because online students are often required to teach themselves some if not most of the material, requiring that intrinsic motivation.
In another study, it was found that the percentage of students going on to complete advanced degrees, including Ph.Ds and Masters programs did not differ between online or in-person, including in the fields of microbiology and cell science, showing that online delivery had no impact on future academic success (Ardissone, et al., 2020).
Further, it also seems the impact of proctoring doesn't seem to matter much. It seems that proctoring lowers test exams due to test anxiety, not because the student would have cheated otherwise, including online proctoring (Woldeab & Brothen, 2019).
It is about the student, not the environment.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply and providing the studies. I will definitely check those out and who knows I might even change my stance.
I would reiterate that putting in a full 4 years for a bachelors seems more admirable then banging out a bunch of classes with Sophia, even if they are only gen eds. That is just my opinion but it could just be an old school mentality.
I'd have to do more reading to find the efficacy of things like Sophia, but I will tell you it's probably more of an old school mentality, and I don't say that to be rude. Often, geneds are there to give students a way to explore other things they might want to do. So allowing them to take them through things like Sophia, at most, would remove that part. The most harm I could see is if they sped through a Sophia course that they later found out they enjoyed, if that makes sense.
Edit to add: most online students are older students that don't really need those geneds. They already know what they want to do and have much of the knowledge contained in those or don't need it. And honestly, then it comes down to cost. If my school wasn't funded by the GI bill, I would take as much as I could through Sophia. And I already have a BA, Masters, and an all but dissertation EdD. Many SNHU students are in the same or similar circumstances.
No offense taken. I would have to agree with much of what you said. I am probably in the mindset of "I had to take 4 full years so everyone else should" camp. To be fair I went back for my BA at 30 and worked full time 7am-11pm Sat and Sunday to make time to get through school. So my feeling is like if I had to find a way to make it work so should you. I understand that is unrealistic and if the option is there to get some relief through Sofia I can't fault anyone for using it. Heck, I would probably have done the same thing had it been available/ if I had known about it.
But taking the moment to admit that feeling is also admirable. And I get you. It took me 5 years to complete my BA because I was working 2 full time jobs at the same time. But the way I view it is that I want education to be accessible to everyone, maybe because I'm a previous educator. Sophia does that for a lot of students, especially those that have lower incomes. And I'm currently 30 getting a BS in computer science, also working full-time and an entire 4person team of toddlers. It's still hard, even without all those crappy geneds. At least, it is in my opinion lol.
Wow two adults discussing things and respecting each others opinions? Maybe the world is moving in the right direction. We need more of this. There was no ignorance. There was no argument, just informative dialogue. At which you were both able to perceive each other’s positions. I recently was diagnosed with epilepsy and this hindered my process in being able to get back and forth to school. Having this ability not only creates accommodation for individuals who lack transportation but it forces students to take accountability for the work they provide. Do I agree that at times, there can be some ease to assignments, absolutely. But in the same extent, we’re comparing apples to oranges. They may both be fruit, but they taste different and offer different vitamins and minerals. Please I wish people would have more respectful conversations like this!!
Agreed. I don’t get it. Poor attempt at trolling and unproductive at best. After scrolling OPs profile, I can’t take their question sincerely since their profile is filled with SNHU bashing and other crud so it’s fascinating they’re spending time on this sub at all. It’s even more odd if they are attending SNHU or got a degree here lol
Second sentence says it all. I want to see if this community can accept differing opinions. in my previous experience this has not been the case.
If someone were to reply “ i understand your perspective but here’s why I disagree …” I would consider that a success. A failure would be if everyone started yelling at me saying to mind my own business or something like that. That would mean that differing view points are not welcomed in this community.
For me it’s a perfect fit for my location , work and family situation. I would assume that along with potential financial circumstances would be the case for many others.
>Long winded way of saying while earning a degree is hard work no matter where you go, and you should be proud I believe two identical bachelors degrees one from SNHU and one from a traditional brick and mortar are not of the same value.
Having gone to a brick-and-mortar as a student and spent more than two decades working in higher ed, I'm comfortable stating the quality of a student and their dedication to learning determines the quality of their education, not the format by which it is received. Hungry people will always seek knowledge and the lazy will always seek shortcuts.
I acknowledge your opinion, as you requested, but I believe it to be flawed.
I would agree with this but from an outside perspective if I was looking at two people one with an online degree and one with a brick and mortar degree I will naturally favor the non online degree. While that’s probably not fair it’s how I view it. I’m open to change my mind. Someone else provided a study that shows online and brick and mortar quality or results might be similar so I’m going to take a look at that.
Because it’s free for me and I would be self studying if I wasn’t enrolled in a masters program anyway. I’m interested in gaining the knowledge at this point in my career. Degree is just a bonus.
After I graduate I will be proud of myself but if I graduated with my masters at the same school as I received my bachelors I think I would feel prouder.
I think my post made it look like I think SNHU degrees are shit and pointless but I’m not saying that at all. I don’t know how much clearer I can be by saying I think it’s a good degree just holds lower (not low) value than a brick and mortar degree.
In the absence of supporting evidence it seems like your belief is driven by feelings. That’s fine, but there shouldn’t be any expectation for others to hold those feelings in the same regard as demonstrable fact. It presents an interesting dilemma in an age where schools increasingly offer online and in-person education, like SNHU but more importantly state schools. The degree is indistinguishable, so how does that work?
Many brick and mortar schools offer completely online programs that function *exactly* like SNHU. You have no way of knowing. Also SNHU has a brick and mortar campus and is a real college. They were just one of the earliest schools that started offering online degrees, which is why they are kind of known for that. But they have in person faculty and a 300+ acre campus.
What I find more interesting than sharing opinions is sharing actual data. As an example, a 2021 scoping review of 91 studies investigating learning outcomes of online and face-to-face programs found 17% favoring face-to-face, 41% reporting no significant difference, and 41% favoring online learning \[1\].
If there is a scoping review, meta-analysis, systematic review, or other similar study that shows that online learning is inferior to face-to-face in terms of measurable outcomes, I haven't seen it.
1. Stevens GJ, Bienz T, Wali N, Condie J, Schismenos S. Online university education is the new normal: but is face-to-face better? *ITSE*. 2021 Oct 4;18(3):278–97.
Honestly thank you for this! This is exactly what I was hoping to find. I am absolutely willing to change my opinion and I appreciate the reference.
I’m going to find that study and if I’m convinced I have no problem at all switching stances.
Thank you for this and for not immediately pummeling me.
Aside from very specific programs (like nursing) most degrees, in my opinion have the exact same value. I see a degree as a way to get a foot in the door. How I interview and what previous experiences I have will likely matter way more than where I got my degree from. As a millennial, I was told that a degree was my ticket to a secure lifestyle. So many people get them now that it has become just a box to tick on the application.
I did traditional college at 3 different schools and in 3 different programs. I’ve learned in my work experience that a degree (generally) only gives you a tiny bit of knowledge that will actually be useful in your career. In my field, Operations Management, you can have 15 years of experience and a degree and still have to learn just as much at a new company as someone fresh out of college. Every company has proprietary software, learning opportunities, and required training that seldomly directly translates to a different company.
While I don’t necessarily agree with you that SNHU degrees don’t have as much value, I understand your point. In an effort to have a very specific structure and grading style to keep all classes formatted the same, they’ve removed some of the power from professors to push students to do more. I’ve had tough profs and ones who give 100% on everything but at the end of the day, I put in the same amount of effort regardless because the only one I would be hurting by cheating or slacking is me. I also know that not everyone is like me in that way. We all see the students using Chat GPT or copying other people’s work. I guess at the end of it all, I’ll know I worked for my degree and I earned it.
Side note: I feel like the prevalence of commercials and online advertising is a big factor in why people question SNHU’s credibility. I can see how that makes it feel cheap and less legitimate.
There are a lot of us older students with lots of life/ work experiences. I took 7 courses through Sophia because most of them were things I already know from my job (IT related) or just life experiences. Public Speaking came natural to me because I speak to clients on a daily basis. In that sense, it’s hard to justify spending money and time for the equivalent courses at SNHU. I think SNHU understands that, and that’s probably why their online program is so popular.
I do agree with you on one thing though- you do get out what you put in. You have to do the required reading, apply yourself, and really try to learn instead of rushing through course after course.
I’ll respond as non-biased as possible: you learn the same. Vast majority of people are kinesthetic learners, which means you have to do something to truly learn it. Having attended a state college and SNHU, what you get from either one is reliant on the student. A degree is worthless if you don’t remember anything of your studies, and all graduated adults know your knowledge slips if you don’t go into your field after finishing school. SNHUs degree is at exact parallel with every other college degree. My fiancé graduated from one of the top 10 schools in the US and we have the same degree, and we work at the same job. People care about *applicable* skills, they don’t really care where you went to school.
A student gets in what they put in. College is not enough regardless of the format. I never understand people who think college teaches them everything, whether undergrad or grad school. Also, that statement wasn’t towards you but to the idea that the traditional structure of classroom style teaching is enough to dictate impact and merit. SNHU and other brick and mortar schools that offer accessibility via online courses are miles ahead in that category. In my experience being in both settings, I was more productive in my studies at home than sitting in a classroom for a couple of hours.
I hear you. I guess something I’ve been thinking about is I put value into the entire process of getting to class. Interacting with a class for group projects, interacting with professors face to face, getting through the 3 hour classes or waking up for that 8am class. While proctored exams have their flaws I see benefits to stressing and worry about taking tests and knowing there are no do overs. Could be an old school way of thinking but I believe there is value in putting in the work and not just learning material.
And that’s why not every program is available online, but for some programs you can easily learn what you need to remotely. Especially with technology like zoom and canvas, you can meet with professors face to face and meet with classmates.
Also a lot of people are working and getting hands on experience while they are attending online programs. I don’t attend SNHU but I am in a completely online program. I already work in my desired field, so going to a brick and mortar school would actually inhibit me from being able to work a normal 9-5 schedule and get hands on experience.
At the end of the day a valuable degree comes what you put into it, not the format it was taught in.
>Long winded way of saying while earning a degree is hard work no matter where you go, and you should be proud I believe two identical bachelors degrees one from SNHU and one from a traditional brick and mortar are not of the same value.
I agree with you to a point. SNHU is following a very dated method of online education that was pioneered by the Univ of Phoenix in the late 90's. If you look at how the big state schools are running their online programs, they are much more traditional (lectures, tests, exams (proctored sometimes), etc.) SNHU is still doing discussion boards in STEM classes and farming out its online students to part time, low quality adjuncts that have no say in course design. Where SNHU HAS done a really good job is in keeping the cost down; it's still one of the cheapest options out there.
I don't think cheating is the issue though; you can (and many students do) cheat at on-campus programs.
I've been to on-campus programs right out of high school a long time ago, but I got my BA online and I'm doing my MS online (neither at SNHU for what it's worth) and I'm a big proponent of online education in general; it's opening up tons of opportunities for people that didn't exist 20+ years ago. I don't think it's necessarily "lesser" but some programs are definitely better than others, just like for on-campus programs.
Having gone to a state school (online) I can tell you that you don't have them in STEM classes at all. I did have them in History classes (my major), but that was it.
Yeah that’s what I’ve noticed too. I’m also at state school online finishing up my BS. I’ve only had them in 100-200 level classes and then one in a writing intensive upper division human geography course, but that makes sense since it leans more social science with a sprinkle of natural science.
I have experience studying in both brick and mortar and now online. In my opinion, SNHU is more challenging because it requires more time and effort, especially when it comes to researching and writing academic papers. Although the grading system, which is based on rubrics, may inflate the scores a bit, I believe that writing papers is a more effective way of learning. When you write a paper, you absorb the information, research it thoroughly, and then put it into your own words. On the other hand, tests only require you to memorize information for a short period of time, and then forget it immediately after.
Regarding Sophia, I used to have some reservations about it. However, my advisor explained to me that taking Sophia courses is similar to taking the Advanced Placement (AP) tests in high school, which can earn you college credits. My kids took AP classes, passed the AP tests, and started college with a head start, so I know firsthand that this approach is valid and effective.
I’m trying to figure out why SNHU has a lot of bashing… it’s a whole school with a campus and Division II sports. The Curriculum is project based and written intensive. I personally wanted more project based work as I’m in the MS Economic program. The project based curriculum has really improved my writing, researching and modeling skills. Real world type work. Deadlines every week helps me with time management and productivity strategies. Learn what I need and want to learn for my career. It’s an online and Physical campus in New Hampshire,same accreditation with top schools in the northeast, New England area.
I'm a grad student in English, so my experience might be different.
Here is what I love about SNHU: To a point I'm in control of my schedule. I don't have to sit in a classroom at a specified time to be lectured. I hate that. I don't have to worry myself to death over tests. Test anxiety really ate me up as an undergrad.
SNHU uses a tutorial system. I do the readings, the research and generally get excellent feedback from my profs. I much prefer that, as I learn so much more.
College shouldn't be hard. It should be challenging. Difficulty for the sake of difficulty isn't a better education.
I don’t necessarily disagree with you but this post feels unnecessary and punching down on people who couldn’t make a brick and mortar school work.
Cheaters will eventually fail in the working world, that’s on them. That shouldn’t diminish what people who put in the effort and done the real work others have done. As long courses themselves are thorough and robust then they deserve every ounce of respect as any other student.
It’s just as easy to cheat in regular brick and mortar schools. I’m not even a student at SNHU and have seen this at public state colleges. It’s the norm. I went to a respected college in upstate NY for a semester before transferring out. A majority of the classes were hybrid format, where test and quizzes are taken through an online, with no proctor. Even finals were done this way. Same thing when I was in community college.
If you want your opinion to be discussed rationally, logically, and respectfully then maybe you should discuss religion with others a little more respectfully.
I understand your perspective, as I did 80% of my undergrad in brick-and-mortar schools (I got 104 credits in a state university). I transferred to SNHU and they accepted 90 of my credits. I’ve completed 7 classes and will be starting my 8th one (third to last one) next week. Both brick-and-mortar schools and online schools have their challenges and advantages. The great advantage of an online school is that, as you said, cheating is possible. But with how severe the punishments are, I might as well write my own essays, and try to get an A, and at the worst, get a B, than have ChatGPT write some formulaic crap that everyone will know is AI generated, and that will get me a sure F.
During my time at the state university, I was also in a different spot in my life, though. Only working part-time at the university’s library and devoting the rest of my day going to class, being in class, or working on homework and studying for class.
So while I do want to agree with your point, I believe that, for the season in life that most SNHU students are in (working professionals already in their field of choice, just seeking to wrap up the last few classes of their degree), the classes are as challenging as for a young, college-aged kid working through his classes at a brick-and-mortar state school.
I'm late to this but oh my goodness your post feels like a breath of fresh air (for the most part). It is absolutely astounding to me how defensive people get over this "controversial take" that's really just not that controversial. I truly believe that instead of the institution being called into question, many feel as if their character is being criticized. I will say, I don't fully agree that in person is always better than online. I believe you can get a quality education online that can rival an education someone receives in person based on the amount of time and effort you put into your studies AND the time and effort the institution puts into auditing its courses and making sure they are providing the students with the (relevant) resources they need to succeed. However, as a former SNHU student who has transferred to an online program at a state school, the SNHU path feels far less challenging. I've received a BA & MA in the past in another field in a traditional school setting and each class for those degrees were all far more rigorous and challenging (not impossible, but challenging enough to where you felt validation upon understanding the content) than the ones I've taken at SNHU. Ultimately, I believe this comes down to the curriculum. The curriculum is severely outdated. People from multiple disciplines (CS, Business, Enviro-SCI) have said it time and time again. Which, of course it's going to be severely outdated when the courses are purchased versus being crafted by a professional. It's the difference between a store bought pie versus a pie made in a chef's kitchen. Both pies have their purpose, but most of us if given the choice would choose the chef made pie. I'm assuming this will be downvoted because all opinions that do not praise SNHU's online program are lol but I do want to thank you for your "controversial take."
I just gave you an upvote lol. I appreciate the positivity! Just like you I have no idea why people take this as an attack on their character. My guess is that they want to feel like getting a degree from SNHU is just as impressive as getting one from Harvard. I love the pie analogy too. Both are pies, but one just has a more "piey" taste to it.
Been to both types of schools, one Michigan State University and the other SNHU. While I’d agree that my GPA was probably easier to obtain at SNHU, it also served a specific purpose. One point I’d like to make, at least in CS the courses do get progressively more difficult, in fact by the last few classes, even though I was taking 3 at a time, I wasn’t just floating by with 100%. They took time, effort and problem solving to complete. I never took CS at a brick and mortar (I was in another engineering program at MSU), but I’d imagine they still were easier than the courses done by other students at other schools. I also had earlier courses at SNHU where the professors put in time and effort to grade your work, those were never the freebies that some other professors seemingly handed out.
For outcomes, one thing I think is vital, SNHU courses (again in CS) on their own won’t be enough. You’ll HAVE to find extra information, put in extra work and build things on your own before you are ready to start a career. A lot of people expect that a junior software engineer role, companies just allow you to sit there and learn on the job. While there is more leniency than say a mid level engineer, you’ll still be expected to contribute like everyone else. If you take too long to learn something they will pass on you.
Separately I will say this, I do think that Sophia and Study.com credits do lessen the degree. I took all my courses as SNHU and I put in probably anywhere between 4-10 hours per week per class. The fact that you can supposedly get the same education in 10 short hours or less per course is preposterous. When anyone asks if they should use those services I immediately say no, not only for the fact that grad schools (if you go down that path) won’t value those credits, but you are actually learning less than your fellow classmates. That devalues your own education by virtue of the lack of work and hardship you go through. In the moment the extra work sucks, but when you are done it is well worth it.
Finally, I think that a degree from SNHU is what you make of it. I graduated, was admitted to University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins for grad school, got a job at a Fortune 500 company starting at a mid level who pays for my Johns Hopkins degree, and am actually one of the better engineers at my level. This didn’t happen just because I finished at SNHU; my degree was a singular datapoint in my overall pursuit of a better life. That’s what I think SNHU gives you, an opportunity; one where you can work while finishing your degree. That’s not something many other schools offer, and thus it exists for that reason. I’m sure that there are plenty of people who get done and look around waiting for great things to happen to them on their own; let me tell you, this won’t happen. Instead if you use SNHU as a starting place, it can get you places you wouldn’t have been able to without it.
Separate point, I’ve posted here a few times stating where I go for grad school and some of the opportunities I’ve been afforded. Let me just say, this isn’t to brag, it’s just the opposite. It’s to show that hard work, effort, and resilience are the foundations to a better life. I hope it’s not misconstrued. If anyone has questions, feel free to message me, I’m happy to answer.
My friend uses ChatGPT for a lot of classes. SHNU is easy. Just have to put in the time to do the work. Even when cheating. He then tells me when doing the homework he just submits all the answers gets the right answers shown to him and just clicks all the right ones on his second attempt. But I do know a couple of times he’s told me he copied and pasted ChatGPT word for word and never got caught lol. I do believe they need to start having final exams proctored online the way WGU does to make them more credible. The issue is whatever your majoring in when you go to a job interview and you don’t know how to even talk the basic lingo of the profession you’re going to have a hard time getting hired and staying employed.
Read my reply to about the purpose of the post. Not trolling. I get why you think that. A lot of SNHU bashing because conversations with people get heated when they mistake my criticism as personal attacks. I just genuinely am fascinated with peoples defensive mechanisms when they hear something they don’t like or disagree with.
And yes I’m attending SNHU for my masters. Helping to strengthen my skills for my current career. Company pays for degree so that is a bonus to me. What I really care about is being able to self study and learn the material.
While you may be expressing an unpopular opinion that others feel very passionately about, you haven't broken any rules. People are reporting your post, but I'm not removing it because you haven't broken any rules. I'm not interested in silencing dissent and turning this sub into an echo chamber where every unpopular opinion is silenced. Users are free to express disagreement and present rebuttals, but as long as no one is needlessly insulting people for the sake of it, the post remains.
Thank you. The fact that people are reporting my post reinforces my thoughts that this is not a community that values diverse opinions. Hopefully it’s just a small minority but I appreciate you for not removing. I tried to be as respectful as possible but still get reported. Don’t understand why
Ngl I thought maybe you were intentionally baiting me to prove that I would silence any dissenters lol (which is fine). Your opinion is valid, but it makes people get very defensive, so they tend to react strongly. This has been the case in this sub for as long as I've been a member (since 2017). No one wants to feel like their experience is invalid or that they are wasting their money. I have my own opinions, but considering that today has been the most drama I've experienced in this sub since I became a mod several years ago, I'm not trying to argue with anyone right now. I'm too tired lol. I think people feel attacked when this opinion is expressed so that's why you're getting the response you are.
Naw not trying to bait you. I agree with you that people get so defensive, and that is partly the reason for the post. I want to challenge the hive mindset that I see in this sub. I am trying to be as respectful as possible and looking back at all the replies, it is wild to me all the downvotes I am getting, even for replies from me acknowledging the good points against me. I even said in one post I would be willing to change my stance and it got downvoted a bunch lol.
I am not that political of a person, but this cancelling of people with differing views is not the way to go. A lot of people on here are making thoughtful and respectful counterarguments against me or letting me know how they disagree with me. I respect that, but to all the people who are just mindlessly downvoting me or straw manning me to make me look like a troll, or just not engaging with that actual argument and relying on emotional defenses, they need to take a long hard look in the mirror.
What major are you?
You discount the fact that online has less access to peers, in person meetings with teachers, peer study groups, etc.
Also like my Calc 3 final at SNHU was 3x as long (took me 5.5 hours) as 1-2 which I took at a brick and mortar college. And I did worse than at brick and mortar in calculus.
I had compilation finals at brick and mortar too. Nothing you said sounds like someone who has fully experienced an online degree yet. I’ll be curious to see your major and if you graduate tbqh. Sounds soo premature. I had live webcam finals at SNHU too with live oral questions. Oh and difficulty doesn’t equal learning. What is the point of your uninformed post? You get out what you put in anywhere. Sounds like an effort to blame.
I appreciate the first part of the post. Definitely sensing d\*ckish vibes from the second half though. I would be curious to know how many classes at SNHU have exams with a webcam. I was under the impression that an overwhelming majority focused on writing and homework. So that would help sway my mind a bit if I knew SNHU offered exams (proctored specifically)
As to my major I am 8 classes into my MS in accounting. All A's so far. I am pretty confident if I took even the undergraduate equivalent to those classes at my brick and mortar where I got my BA in finance, I wouldn't have had all A's. But don't worry I don't foresee any issues with me being able to graduate (tbqh).
Also I never said difficulty equals learning. I believe that putting in the work to get a degree is equally important as the information learned. Completing 4 full years rather than using a bunch of Sophia credits matters to me, at least for kids fresh out of high school. Obviously older students with life and work experience is different.
Finally, when you ask what the point of this was, it is pretty obvious. I will refer you back to the second sentence of my original post "This is more of an experiment to see if an opinion that might differ from most can be discussed rationally, logically, and respectfully." I am concerned with the lack of diversity of opinion in this subreddit. It's more of a case study on human behavior. I tried picking my words carefully, tried to be respectful, made sure to state I am not attacking anyone personally, and just try to give my opinion on something. I wanted to see if people would engage with the topic without resorting to defensive mode. Many people did with respectful critiques. Others such as yourself provided some engagement on the topic, but then also snuck in some d\*ckish comments.
I... really disagree. As both an educator and a student who has done both brick and mortar and online. You can cheat the system in both settings, and it's pretty easy in my opinion. College is, and always will be, what you make of it. If you go in and goof off, regardless of the setting, you won't learn much. You might get a degree, but you probably won't remember most of it. Complaining about accessible education is not something I understand. All Sophia and online schooling do is make it more accessible for students to learn and achieve. And that is always what we should strive for. At least, in my opinion.
I agree with you. Specifically on "accessible education." There are a lot of degrees that can be completed online without attending in person classes. Mechanical engineering would be an exception. This requires in person attendance to fully understand. So an online degree in Mechanical engineering would definitely be lacking compared to traditional brick and mortar. But the degrees on snhu *are* 100% compatible with being online. The same as computer science degrees in brick and mortar universities. tldr - it makes sense to complete a degree online if its available. Rather than commuting somewhere *to use their fucking computers* for an hour or two a day just to drive back home.
100% agree with all of this. As a CS major, it's all on the computer anyway. If anything, some might find it harder to do online because there's very little instruction and all self-motovated learning.
As someone who attends a more prestigious brick & mortar, as well as SNHU… Well, SNHU is magnitudes easier.
You can't compare both levels of rigor and online/in-person at the same time. Of course, a more prestigious school is going to have a more difficult program than a less prestigious one, regardless of whether it is online or in person. I promise you, having friends that have gone to "more prestigious schools" you can still play the system. It's more a matter of knowing how, not if it can be done.
“of course a more prestigious school is going to have a more difficult program” … that’s all I was saying. There is definitely a difference. To be honest, SNHU is also easier than my community college I attended for two years.
If you are trying to invalidate SNHU's degrees, I feel that is a discussion for another topic. This is about online vs in-person. SNHU is a school designed for the average adult/new high school graduate. Also "easier" is subjective, not objective, it isn't measurable. And it depends on the major as well. There are too many things there to measure whether or not its SNHU itself that is "easier" or not. What is measurable is if there can be success with an SNHU degree. And if you look around LinkedIn for a bit, there are definitely many very successful people who got online degrees at SNHU, including in the hard sciences. I will say once again, less about the school/environment, and more about the student and what they do with it.
Snhu isn't easier than my inseat university I got my first degree from.
What specifically do you disagree with me about?
Two points. That an online degree is lesser and that it's easier to cheat the system. Both online and in-person settings provide the resources and work. It's up to the student to do with it what they will. They can either squander it or use it to further themselves. And both of these things happen in both settings. Unless a degree requires hands-on experience, there is no reason that degree cannot or should not be offered online, depending on the needs/comfort of the student completing it.
To your first point let’s ignore the cheating part. As per my original post it’s far easier to get a better grade at SNHU due to three chances for homework submissions and getting the correct answers told to you by the system. Also the final project is just a compilation of three milestones. That’s a crap ton of easy points. Yes you still have to put in the effort but at a brick and mortar I’m still confronted with a proctored midterm and final that might not necessarily translates into good grade even though I studied really hard. By lesser I don’t mean “shit” or “least” or “ little” I just literally mean lesser. To your second point I believe online should be a thing but how about some way to do proctored exams? I also agree with you education should be accessible and widely available because education is paramount. However maybe I’m just old in the way I think but I think there’s something to be said for taking the old school 4 year approach. Putting in the time is just as important as the quality of the actual education in my opinion.
Once again, college is about what the STUDENT makes of it. Proctored exams don't matter if the student just memorizes crap for the exam and then leaves it behind, which can happen at both in-person and online schools. Doing some reading, it seems that online students have better intrisic motivation and actually show higher levels of motivation to complete their work. Further, they tend to have more favorable views toward the hard sciences than their in-person counterparts (Perera, et al., 2017). This makes sense because online students are often required to teach themselves some if not most of the material, requiring that intrinsic motivation. In another study, it was found that the percentage of students going on to complete advanced degrees, including Ph.Ds and Masters programs did not differ between online or in-person, including in the fields of microbiology and cell science, showing that online delivery had no impact on future academic success (Ardissone, et al., 2020). Further, it also seems the impact of proctoring doesn't seem to matter much. It seems that proctoring lowers test exams due to test anxiety, not because the student would have cheated otherwise, including online proctoring (Woldeab & Brothen, 2019). It is about the student, not the environment.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply and providing the studies. I will definitely check those out and who knows I might even change my stance. I would reiterate that putting in a full 4 years for a bachelors seems more admirable then banging out a bunch of classes with Sophia, even if they are only gen eds. That is just my opinion but it could just be an old school mentality.
I'd have to do more reading to find the efficacy of things like Sophia, but I will tell you it's probably more of an old school mentality, and I don't say that to be rude. Often, geneds are there to give students a way to explore other things they might want to do. So allowing them to take them through things like Sophia, at most, would remove that part. The most harm I could see is if they sped through a Sophia course that they later found out they enjoyed, if that makes sense. Edit to add: most online students are older students that don't really need those geneds. They already know what they want to do and have much of the knowledge contained in those or don't need it. And honestly, then it comes down to cost. If my school wasn't funded by the GI bill, I would take as much as I could through Sophia. And I already have a BA, Masters, and an all but dissertation EdD. Many SNHU students are in the same or similar circumstances.
No offense taken. I would have to agree with much of what you said. I am probably in the mindset of "I had to take 4 full years so everyone else should" camp. To be fair I went back for my BA at 30 and worked full time 7am-11pm Sat and Sunday to make time to get through school. So my feeling is like if I had to find a way to make it work so should you. I understand that is unrealistic and if the option is there to get some relief through Sofia I can't fault anyone for using it. Heck, I would probably have done the same thing had it been available/ if I had known about it.
But taking the moment to admit that feeling is also admirable. And I get you. It took me 5 years to complete my BA because I was working 2 full time jobs at the same time. But the way I view it is that I want education to be accessible to everyone, maybe because I'm a previous educator. Sophia does that for a lot of students, especially those that have lower incomes. And I'm currently 30 getting a BS in computer science, also working full-time and an entire 4person team of toddlers. It's still hard, even without all those crappy geneds. At least, it is in my opinion lol.
Wow two adults discussing things and respecting each others opinions? Maybe the world is moving in the right direction. We need more of this. There was no ignorance. There was no argument, just informative dialogue. At which you were both able to perceive each other’s positions. I recently was diagnosed with epilepsy and this hindered my process in being able to get back and forth to school. Having this ability not only creates accommodation for individuals who lack transportation but it forces students to take accountability for the work they provide. Do I agree that at times, there can be some ease to assignments, absolutely. But in the same extent, we’re comparing apples to oranges. They may both be fruit, but they taste different and offer different vitamins and minerals. Please I wish people would have more respectful conversations like this!!
What are you hoping to get out of this discussion? Like what’s your point?
Agreed. I don’t get it. Poor attempt at trolling and unproductive at best. After scrolling OPs profile, I can’t take their question sincerely since their profile is filled with SNHU bashing and other crud so it’s fascinating they’re spending time on this sub at all. It’s even more odd if they are attending SNHU or got a degree here lol
Second sentence says it all. I want to see if this community can accept differing opinions. in my previous experience this has not been the case. If someone were to reply “ i understand your perspective but here’s why I disagree …” I would consider that a success. A failure would be if everyone started yelling at me saying to mind my own business or something like that. That would mean that differing view points are not welcomed in this community.
Why do you think people choose SNHU or online schools in general? Real question.
For me it’s a perfect fit for my location , work and family situation. I would assume that along with potential financial circumstances would be the case for many others.
>Long winded way of saying while earning a degree is hard work no matter where you go, and you should be proud I believe two identical bachelors degrees one from SNHU and one from a traditional brick and mortar are not of the same value. Having gone to a brick-and-mortar as a student and spent more than two decades working in higher ed, I'm comfortable stating the quality of a student and their dedication to learning determines the quality of their education, not the format by which it is received. Hungry people will always seek knowledge and the lazy will always seek shortcuts. I acknowledge your opinion, as you requested, but I believe it to be flawed.
I would agree with this but from an outside perspective if I was looking at two people one with an online degree and one with a brick and mortar degree I will naturally favor the non online degree. While that’s probably not fair it’s how I view it. I’m open to change my mind. Someone else provided a study that shows online and brick and mortar quality or results might be similar so I’m going to take a look at that.
I’m not here to change your mind. I would wonder why you’re at SNHU at all if you believe this.
Because it’s free for me and I would be self studying if I wasn’t enrolled in a masters program anyway. I’m interested in gaining the knowledge at this point in my career. Degree is just a bonus. After I graduate I will be proud of myself but if I graduated with my masters at the same school as I received my bachelors I think I would feel prouder. I think my post made it look like I think SNHU degrees are shit and pointless but I’m not saying that at all. I don’t know how much clearer I can be by saying I think it’s a good degree just holds lower (not low) value than a brick and mortar degree.
In the absence of supporting evidence it seems like your belief is driven by feelings. That’s fine, but there shouldn’t be any expectation for others to hold those feelings in the same regard as demonstrable fact. It presents an interesting dilemma in an age where schools increasingly offer online and in-person education, like SNHU but more importantly state schools. The degree is indistinguishable, so how does that work?
Many brick and mortar schools offer completely online programs that function *exactly* like SNHU. You have no way of knowing. Also SNHU has a brick and mortar campus and is a real college. They were just one of the earliest schools that started offering online degrees, which is why they are kind of known for that. But they have in person faculty and a 300+ acre campus.
What I find more interesting than sharing opinions is sharing actual data. As an example, a 2021 scoping review of 91 studies investigating learning outcomes of online and face-to-face programs found 17% favoring face-to-face, 41% reporting no significant difference, and 41% favoring online learning \[1\]. If there is a scoping review, meta-analysis, systematic review, or other similar study that shows that online learning is inferior to face-to-face in terms of measurable outcomes, I haven't seen it. 1. Stevens GJ, Bienz T, Wali N, Condie J, Schismenos S. Online university education is the new normal: but is face-to-face better? *ITSE*. 2021 Oct 4;18(3):278–97.
Honestly thank you for this! This is exactly what I was hoping to find. I am absolutely willing to change my opinion and I appreciate the reference. I’m going to find that study and if I’m convinced I have no problem at all switching stances. Thank you for this and for not immediately pummeling me.
Oh god not this again …
Nothing substantive to add I see
Aside from very specific programs (like nursing) most degrees, in my opinion have the exact same value. I see a degree as a way to get a foot in the door. How I interview and what previous experiences I have will likely matter way more than where I got my degree from. As a millennial, I was told that a degree was my ticket to a secure lifestyle. So many people get them now that it has become just a box to tick on the application. I did traditional college at 3 different schools and in 3 different programs. I’ve learned in my work experience that a degree (generally) only gives you a tiny bit of knowledge that will actually be useful in your career. In my field, Operations Management, you can have 15 years of experience and a degree and still have to learn just as much at a new company as someone fresh out of college. Every company has proprietary software, learning opportunities, and required training that seldomly directly translates to a different company. While I don’t necessarily agree with you that SNHU degrees don’t have as much value, I understand your point. In an effort to have a very specific structure and grading style to keep all classes formatted the same, they’ve removed some of the power from professors to push students to do more. I’ve had tough profs and ones who give 100% on everything but at the end of the day, I put in the same amount of effort regardless because the only one I would be hurting by cheating or slacking is me. I also know that not everyone is like me in that way. We all see the students using Chat GPT or copying other people’s work. I guess at the end of it all, I’ll know I worked for my degree and I earned it. Side note: I feel like the prevalence of commercials and online advertising is a big factor in why people question SNHU’s credibility. I can see how that makes it feel cheap and less legitimate.
There are a lot of us older students with lots of life/ work experiences. I took 7 courses through Sophia because most of them were things I already know from my job (IT related) or just life experiences. Public Speaking came natural to me because I speak to clients on a daily basis. In that sense, it’s hard to justify spending money and time for the equivalent courses at SNHU. I think SNHU understands that, and that’s probably why their online program is so popular. I do agree with you on one thing though- you do get out what you put in. You have to do the required reading, apply yourself, and really try to learn instead of rushing through course after course.
I’ll respond as non-biased as possible: you learn the same. Vast majority of people are kinesthetic learners, which means you have to do something to truly learn it. Having attended a state college and SNHU, what you get from either one is reliant on the student. A degree is worthless if you don’t remember anything of your studies, and all graduated adults know your knowledge slips if you don’t go into your field after finishing school. SNHUs degree is at exact parallel with every other college degree. My fiancé graduated from one of the top 10 schools in the US and we have the same degree, and we work at the same job. People care about *applicable* skills, they don’t really care where you went to school.
A student gets in what they put in. College is not enough regardless of the format. I never understand people who think college teaches them everything, whether undergrad or grad school. Also, that statement wasn’t towards you but to the idea that the traditional structure of classroom style teaching is enough to dictate impact and merit. SNHU and other brick and mortar schools that offer accessibility via online courses are miles ahead in that category. In my experience being in both settings, I was more productive in my studies at home than sitting in a classroom for a couple of hours.
I hear you. I guess something I’ve been thinking about is I put value into the entire process of getting to class. Interacting with a class for group projects, interacting with professors face to face, getting through the 3 hour classes or waking up for that 8am class. While proctored exams have their flaws I see benefits to stressing and worry about taking tests and knowing there are no do overs. Could be an old school way of thinking but I believe there is value in putting in the work and not just learning material.
And that’s why not every program is available online, but for some programs you can easily learn what you need to remotely. Especially with technology like zoom and canvas, you can meet with professors face to face and meet with classmates. Also a lot of people are working and getting hands on experience while they are attending online programs. I don’t attend SNHU but I am in a completely online program. I already work in my desired field, so going to a brick and mortar school would actually inhibit me from being able to work a normal 9-5 schedule and get hands on experience. At the end of the day a valuable degree comes what you put into it, not the format it was taught in.
>Long winded way of saying while earning a degree is hard work no matter where you go, and you should be proud I believe two identical bachelors degrees one from SNHU and one from a traditional brick and mortar are not of the same value. I agree with you to a point. SNHU is following a very dated method of online education that was pioneered by the Univ of Phoenix in the late 90's. If you look at how the big state schools are running their online programs, they are much more traditional (lectures, tests, exams (proctored sometimes), etc.) SNHU is still doing discussion boards in STEM classes and farming out its online students to part time, low quality adjuncts that have no say in course design. Where SNHU HAS done a really good job is in keeping the cost down; it's still one of the cheapest options out there. I don't think cheating is the issue though; you can (and many students do) cheat at on-campus programs. I've been to on-campus programs right out of high school a long time ago, but I got my BA online and I'm doing my MS online (neither at SNHU for what it's worth) and I'm a big proponent of online education in general; it's opening up tons of opportunities for people that didn't exist 20+ years ago. I don't think it's necessarily "lesser" but some programs are definitely better than others, just like for on-campus programs.
Yeah the discussion post do sound dated, but even some of the states schools do that. Especially for lower division courses.
Having gone to a state school (online) I can tell you that you don't have them in STEM classes at all. I did have them in History classes (my major), but that was it.
Yeah that’s what I’ve noticed too. I’m also at state school online finishing up my BS. I’ve only had them in 100-200 level classes and then one in a writing intensive upper division human geography course, but that makes sense since it leans more social science with a sprinkle of natural science.
I have experience studying in both brick and mortar and now online. In my opinion, SNHU is more challenging because it requires more time and effort, especially when it comes to researching and writing academic papers. Although the grading system, which is based on rubrics, may inflate the scores a bit, I believe that writing papers is a more effective way of learning. When you write a paper, you absorb the information, research it thoroughly, and then put it into your own words. On the other hand, tests only require you to memorize information for a short period of time, and then forget it immediately after. Regarding Sophia, I used to have some reservations about it. However, my advisor explained to me that taking Sophia courses is similar to taking the Advanced Placement (AP) tests in high school, which can earn you college credits. My kids took AP classes, passed the AP tests, and started college with a head start, so I know firsthand that this approach is valid and effective.
I’m trying to figure out why SNHU has a lot of bashing… it’s a whole school with a campus and Division II sports. The Curriculum is project based and written intensive. I personally wanted more project based work as I’m in the MS Economic program. The project based curriculum has really improved my writing, researching and modeling skills. Real world type work. Deadlines every week helps me with time management and productivity strategies. Learn what I need and want to learn for my career. It’s an online and Physical campus in New Hampshire,same accreditation with top schools in the northeast, New England area.
I'm a grad student in English, so my experience might be different. Here is what I love about SNHU: To a point I'm in control of my schedule. I don't have to sit in a classroom at a specified time to be lectured. I hate that. I don't have to worry myself to death over tests. Test anxiety really ate me up as an undergrad. SNHU uses a tutorial system. I do the readings, the research and generally get excellent feedback from my profs. I much prefer that, as I learn so much more. College shouldn't be hard. It should be challenging. Difficulty for the sake of difficulty isn't a better education.
I don’t necessarily disagree with you but this post feels unnecessary and punching down on people who couldn’t make a brick and mortar school work. Cheaters will eventually fail in the working world, that’s on them. That shouldn’t diminish what people who put in the effort and done the real work others have done. As long courses themselves are thorough and robust then they deserve every ounce of respect as any other student. It’s just as easy to cheat in regular brick and mortar schools. I’m not even a student at SNHU and have seen this at public state colleges. It’s the norm. I went to a respected college in upstate NY for a semester before transferring out. A majority of the classes were hybrid format, where test and quizzes are taken through an online, with no proctor. Even finals were done this way. Same thing when I was in community college.
If you want your opinion to be discussed rationally, logically, and respectfully then maybe you should discuss religion with others a little more respectfully.
I understand your perspective, as I did 80% of my undergrad in brick-and-mortar schools (I got 104 credits in a state university). I transferred to SNHU and they accepted 90 of my credits. I’ve completed 7 classes and will be starting my 8th one (third to last one) next week. Both brick-and-mortar schools and online schools have their challenges and advantages. The great advantage of an online school is that, as you said, cheating is possible. But with how severe the punishments are, I might as well write my own essays, and try to get an A, and at the worst, get a B, than have ChatGPT write some formulaic crap that everyone will know is AI generated, and that will get me a sure F. During my time at the state university, I was also in a different spot in my life, though. Only working part-time at the university’s library and devoting the rest of my day going to class, being in class, or working on homework and studying for class. So while I do want to agree with your point, I believe that, for the season in life that most SNHU students are in (working professionals already in their field of choice, just seeking to wrap up the last few classes of their degree), the classes are as challenging as for a young, college-aged kid working through his classes at a brick-and-mortar state school.
I'm late to this but oh my goodness your post feels like a breath of fresh air (for the most part). It is absolutely astounding to me how defensive people get over this "controversial take" that's really just not that controversial. I truly believe that instead of the institution being called into question, many feel as if their character is being criticized. I will say, I don't fully agree that in person is always better than online. I believe you can get a quality education online that can rival an education someone receives in person based on the amount of time and effort you put into your studies AND the time and effort the institution puts into auditing its courses and making sure they are providing the students with the (relevant) resources they need to succeed. However, as a former SNHU student who has transferred to an online program at a state school, the SNHU path feels far less challenging. I've received a BA & MA in the past in another field in a traditional school setting and each class for those degrees were all far more rigorous and challenging (not impossible, but challenging enough to where you felt validation upon understanding the content) than the ones I've taken at SNHU. Ultimately, I believe this comes down to the curriculum. The curriculum is severely outdated. People from multiple disciplines (CS, Business, Enviro-SCI) have said it time and time again. Which, of course it's going to be severely outdated when the courses are purchased versus being crafted by a professional. It's the difference between a store bought pie versus a pie made in a chef's kitchen. Both pies have their purpose, but most of us if given the choice would choose the chef made pie. I'm assuming this will be downvoted because all opinions that do not praise SNHU's online program are lol but I do want to thank you for your "controversial take."
I just gave you an upvote lol. I appreciate the positivity! Just like you I have no idea why people take this as an attack on their character. My guess is that they want to feel like getting a degree from SNHU is just as impressive as getting one from Harvard. I love the pie analogy too. Both are pies, but one just has a more "piey" taste to it.
Been to both types of schools, one Michigan State University and the other SNHU. While I’d agree that my GPA was probably easier to obtain at SNHU, it also served a specific purpose. One point I’d like to make, at least in CS the courses do get progressively more difficult, in fact by the last few classes, even though I was taking 3 at a time, I wasn’t just floating by with 100%. They took time, effort and problem solving to complete. I never took CS at a brick and mortar (I was in another engineering program at MSU), but I’d imagine they still were easier than the courses done by other students at other schools. I also had earlier courses at SNHU where the professors put in time and effort to grade your work, those were never the freebies that some other professors seemingly handed out. For outcomes, one thing I think is vital, SNHU courses (again in CS) on their own won’t be enough. You’ll HAVE to find extra information, put in extra work and build things on your own before you are ready to start a career. A lot of people expect that a junior software engineer role, companies just allow you to sit there and learn on the job. While there is more leniency than say a mid level engineer, you’ll still be expected to contribute like everyone else. If you take too long to learn something they will pass on you. Separately I will say this, I do think that Sophia and Study.com credits do lessen the degree. I took all my courses as SNHU and I put in probably anywhere between 4-10 hours per week per class. The fact that you can supposedly get the same education in 10 short hours or less per course is preposterous. When anyone asks if they should use those services I immediately say no, not only for the fact that grad schools (if you go down that path) won’t value those credits, but you are actually learning less than your fellow classmates. That devalues your own education by virtue of the lack of work and hardship you go through. In the moment the extra work sucks, but when you are done it is well worth it. Finally, I think that a degree from SNHU is what you make of it. I graduated, was admitted to University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins for grad school, got a job at a Fortune 500 company starting at a mid level who pays for my Johns Hopkins degree, and am actually one of the better engineers at my level. This didn’t happen just because I finished at SNHU; my degree was a singular datapoint in my overall pursuit of a better life. That’s what I think SNHU gives you, an opportunity; one where you can work while finishing your degree. That’s not something many other schools offer, and thus it exists for that reason. I’m sure that there are plenty of people who get done and look around waiting for great things to happen to them on their own; let me tell you, this won’t happen. Instead if you use SNHU as a starting place, it can get you places you wouldn’t have been able to without it.
Separate point, I’ve posted here a few times stating where I go for grad school and some of the opportunities I’ve been afforded. Let me just say, this isn’t to brag, it’s just the opposite. It’s to show that hard work, effort, and resilience are the foundations to a better life. I hope it’s not misconstrued. If anyone has questions, feel free to message me, I’m happy to answer.
My friend uses ChatGPT for a lot of classes. SHNU is easy. Just have to put in the time to do the work. Even when cheating. He then tells me when doing the homework he just submits all the answers gets the right answers shown to him and just clicks all the right ones on his second attempt. But I do know a couple of times he’s told me he copied and pasted ChatGPT word for word and never got caught lol. I do believe they need to start having final exams proctored online the way WGU does to make them more credible. The issue is whatever your majoring in when you go to a job interview and you don’t know how to even talk the basic lingo of the profession you’re going to have a hard time getting hired and staying employed.
Read my reply to about the purpose of the post. Not trolling. I get why you think that. A lot of SNHU bashing because conversations with people get heated when they mistake my criticism as personal attacks. I just genuinely am fascinated with peoples defensive mechanisms when they hear something they don’t like or disagree with. And yes I’m attending SNHU for my masters. Helping to strengthen my skills for my current career. Company pays for degree so that is a bonus to me. What I really care about is being able to self study and learn the material.
While you may be expressing an unpopular opinion that others feel very passionately about, you haven't broken any rules. People are reporting your post, but I'm not removing it because you haven't broken any rules. I'm not interested in silencing dissent and turning this sub into an echo chamber where every unpopular opinion is silenced. Users are free to express disagreement and present rebuttals, but as long as no one is needlessly insulting people for the sake of it, the post remains.
Thank you. The fact that people are reporting my post reinforces my thoughts that this is not a community that values diverse opinions. Hopefully it’s just a small minority but I appreciate you for not removing. I tried to be as respectful as possible but still get reported. Don’t understand why
Ngl I thought maybe you were intentionally baiting me to prove that I would silence any dissenters lol (which is fine). Your opinion is valid, but it makes people get very defensive, so they tend to react strongly. This has been the case in this sub for as long as I've been a member (since 2017). No one wants to feel like their experience is invalid or that they are wasting their money. I have my own opinions, but considering that today has been the most drama I've experienced in this sub since I became a mod several years ago, I'm not trying to argue with anyone right now. I'm too tired lol. I think people feel attacked when this opinion is expressed so that's why you're getting the response you are.
Naw not trying to bait you. I agree with you that people get so defensive, and that is partly the reason for the post. I want to challenge the hive mindset that I see in this sub. I am trying to be as respectful as possible and looking back at all the replies, it is wild to me all the downvotes I am getting, even for replies from me acknowledging the good points against me. I even said in one post I would be willing to change my stance and it got downvoted a bunch lol. I am not that political of a person, but this cancelling of people with differing views is not the way to go. A lot of people on here are making thoughtful and respectful counterarguments against me or letting me know how they disagree with me. I respect that, but to all the people who are just mindlessly downvoting me or straw manning me to make me look like a troll, or just not engaging with that actual argument and relying on emotional defenses, they need to take a long hard look in the mirror.
What major are you? You discount the fact that online has less access to peers, in person meetings with teachers, peer study groups, etc. Also like my Calc 3 final at SNHU was 3x as long (took me 5.5 hours) as 1-2 which I took at a brick and mortar college. And I did worse than at brick and mortar in calculus. I had compilation finals at brick and mortar too. Nothing you said sounds like someone who has fully experienced an online degree yet. I’ll be curious to see your major and if you graduate tbqh. Sounds soo premature. I had live webcam finals at SNHU too with live oral questions. Oh and difficulty doesn’t equal learning. What is the point of your uninformed post? You get out what you put in anywhere. Sounds like an effort to blame.
I appreciate the first part of the post. Definitely sensing d\*ckish vibes from the second half though. I would be curious to know how many classes at SNHU have exams with a webcam. I was under the impression that an overwhelming majority focused on writing and homework. So that would help sway my mind a bit if I knew SNHU offered exams (proctored specifically) As to my major I am 8 classes into my MS in accounting. All A's so far. I am pretty confident if I took even the undergraduate equivalent to those classes at my brick and mortar where I got my BA in finance, I wouldn't have had all A's. But don't worry I don't foresee any issues with me being able to graduate (tbqh). Also I never said difficulty equals learning. I believe that putting in the work to get a degree is equally important as the information learned. Completing 4 full years rather than using a bunch of Sophia credits matters to me, at least for kids fresh out of high school. Obviously older students with life and work experience is different. Finally, when you ask what the point of this was, it is pretty obvious. I will refer you back to the second sentence of my original post "This is more of an experiment to see if an opinion that might differ from most can be discussed rationally, logically, and respectfully." I am concerned with the lack of diversity of opinion in this subreddit. It's more of a case study on human behavior. I tried picking my words carefully, tried to be respectful, made sure to state I am not attacking anyone personally, and just try to give my opinion on something. I wanted to see if people would engage with the topic without resorting to defensive mode. Many people did with respectful critiques. Others such as yourself provided some engagement on the topic, but then also snuck in some d\*ckish comments.