Associate Online Degree Programs | One Dean’s View of Online Education
Andy DiPaolo is the executive director of the Stanford Center for Professional Development for Stanford University. He’s also the associate dean of the Stanford School of Engineering.
Here’s what he had to say about online education:
Online education is not appropriate for undergraduates, who benefit from on-campus socialization, he said. Nor does it work for doctorate candidates, who work one on one with faculty.
(I personally disagree with him on that one. I beleive online education is just fine for folks getting an undergraduate degree. Sure you may miss out on some socialization, but if you’re focused it works just great)
But a masters-level degree from the School of Engineering is a good fit for older students who are working and so cannot attend class, he said. Many employers help pay for a worker’s graduate degree.
Now that I do agree with 
Ben
Comment by David
Hi Ben,
I agree with you. Why would an online degree not work for undergrduate programs? If a student has the choice to not get a bachelor degree or go to an online school, I would stronly encourage the later (in most cases).
Thanks,
David
Posted on November 25, 2006 at 11:46 am
Comment by bposton
Thanks David, good point.
The Sloan report also agrees with both of us - it reports that the vast majority of online students are undergrads.
Ben
Posted on November 26, 2006 at 9:19 am