Question:
I am planning to resume my college activities and my degree pursuits soon. Myeventual goal is to teach at the junior college or university level. Based onall the many sources of worthwhile (and worthless) information onaccreditation, etc., which I have gotten on a.e.d, I have chosen RegentsCollege for my BA and an evening MA or even MBA from Utah State University. I know there is nothing on my future diplomas that say how the info wasdelivered (DL), but is there any stigma in academia against known DL colleges,like Regents? I guess my question is, will potential employers in thecollegiate world look at my resume and reject me out of hand because of myRegents College degree?I would especially love to hear from current educators who use DL degrees intheir teaching credentials.
Answer:
As a general rule, you will not be rejected out of hand with any degreethat is regionally accredited. Having said that, however, you willalways find some educators who are constipated to the extent that theydo not approve of *any* nontraditionally earned degree. The basis forthis is usually the, "I paid my dues [in a traditional program], youshould, too" philosophy.
Keep in mind that higher education is a hard field to break into. Evenat the communioty college level, you will always fare better againstthe potential competition with a doctoral degree *unless* you have anoutstanding record (say, in terms of publications) or have insidesources at the school that might sway things in your favor. Thegeneral theory, of course, is that a teacher should have at least onedegree higher than his or her students; however, in a tight market youmay find that there are many applicants who ultimately have one degreehigher than you.
If you have not already begun to do so, you should start reading TheChronicle of Higher Education, the primary publication for advertising*all* college teaching positions (including community colleges). TheChron is available at most college libraries and has an entire sectioneach week consisting of nothing but want ads. It w
