Georgia Tech MS Computer Science online program, same degree, devalues on campus MSCS degree?

[kcyc]

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304470504579166112833252206

Georgia Tech plans to enroll thousands of students for its omscs program (online master of science in computer science), which leads to the exact same degree MSCS (no word "online" on diploma) as the degree of on campus/residential MSCS student. This is confirmed by GT via email and stated here:

 

http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/faq/

How will this degree appear on my diploma and/or transcript?

The name "Online Master of Science" is an informal designation to help both Georgia Tech and prospective students distinguish the delivery method of the OMS program from our on-campus degree. The degree name in both cases is Master of Science in Computer Science.

 

 

Would hundreds to thousands of people all over the world earning MS CS degrees from GT seriously devalues the MS CS degree (since the GT MSCS degree becomes too "rampant")?

 

I was accepted to GT's on-campus/resiential MS CS program, but due to this concern that I  do not want my degree seriously devalued, I feel I do not want to attend GT for MS in CS.

 

Is my concern legitimate/well-founded?

[omegamarkxii]

I've been looking at this degree for quite a while too. I don't think having an OMS (Online Master of Science) for CS in Gatech would devalue the on campus one IMO. 

 

Because they have the same very selective admission process just like how it is on campus, AND if conditionally admitted students can't get at least a B on the 2 foundation courses, they would eventually be rejected. 

 

This is only what I found out from their site and my reasons are probably not thorough enough to back up my opinion. But I still believe you should not worry about your on-campus MS in CS degree be devalued by the existence of this OMS degree at all. 

[kcyc]

Thanks for your reply.

 

From the WSJ article I posted:

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Also notable among the batch of applications for the Georgia Tech (online) program, which starts in January, is the 14-fold increase in U.S. residents. Zvi Galil, the dean of its College of Computing, said 1,854, or 79%, of the 2,359 applicants were U.S. citizens. For the residential class that began this fall, just 128, or 9%, of the 1,371 applicants were U.S citizens. Only about 150 students enrolled in the residential program, while most of the online students are expected to matriculate.

Graduate engineering programs have been dominated by foreign nationals for decades. Nearly two-thirds of all computer-science graduate students and over 70% of all electrical-engineering graduate students studying in the U.S. are from other countries, according to Stuart Anderson, author of a recent report on the subject for the National Foundation for American Policy.

 

Sebastian Thrun, the CEO of Udacity, which is partnering with Georgia Tech as well as AT&T to create the program, said the large number of U.S. applicants highlighted a demand among adult students. "There is a really huge number of people in this country that would love to get an education while having a job or raising a family or staying at home," Mr. Thrun said. "But that need is being unmet."

Mr. Galil said he hopes to expand the Georgia Tech model to 10,000 students. The school hires an additional teacher for every 60 or so students to facilitate online chat discussions.

Every applicant with a four-year college degree who graduated with at least a 3.0 will be accepted, but that acceptance is conditional on making at least a B in the first two courses. The residential program accepts fewer than one in five applicants and that selectivity is good for the school because it enhances prestige—but Mr. Galil said qualified applicants are turned away.

A residential student recently approached Mr. Gail and complained that the online program would devalue his degree if it grows too large because so many more people would have it.

Mr. Galil said he told the student: "You're not here because you're good, you're here because you're lucky. When we admitted you, we turned away 500 other students who were as good as you or maybe better."

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The OMS program certainly, to enroll up to 10,000 student, would not be as selective as the on campus program, which has acceptance rate of 15-20% (1 in 5 applicants) and about 150 students enrolled each year. The point of OMS program is to provide  access and affordability for those seeking a CS education, and will be much more lenient in accepting candidates.

That said,some OMS students enrolled may not pass the first 2 classes with B's, or do not have the dedication/commitment to finish the 12 classes online to obtain the MSCS degree.

 

But I would think GT would adjust its policies of OMS if it really becomes a problem of devaluing the on-campus MSCS degree. But the scale of thousands that OMS will admit is certainly a large number for awarding MSCS degree.
 

Edited March 20, 2014 by kcyc

[MadtownJacket]

Considering that Georgia Tech grads get hired at Google, Microsoft, Epic, and other great software companies all over the nation and world, I don't think I'd be too worried about the degree being devalued.

[PhDerp]

You can make it clear you did an on-campus master's when you write up your resume if you think it's going to matter. I think prospective employers will understand why you want to specify.

[kcyc]

I see, thank for you guys' opinions!

The Georgia Tech online massive MS CS program has just started, and will scale up to thousands of online students in the next few years.

 

So it's still unclear the impact of the online degree.

 

But certainly I could specify my research and/or thesis and school activities on my resume to make it clear it's an on-campus degree.

[bsharpe269]

If the quality of instruction remains the same then I don't see why employers would value the degree any less. I bet the online students are expected to take proctored exams that are the same as the ones you are taking and complete the same coursework.

[Icydubloon]

I'd imagine employers will start looking at GPA of Georgia Tech graduates more closely and asking more difficult interview questions since more people are now graduating with the Georgia Tech name. It will devalue the Georgia Tech name yes, but not the knowledge you gain (actually it does devalue the knowledge a little bit since everyone is smarter but the effect of this is negligible).

 

For those saying the degree won't be devalued:

Part of a degree is that it conveys the selectivity of the school granting the degree. Many qualified applicants are not admitted to some degree programs. This "luck" factor is why we "ooohh ahh" at great schools (e.g. Stanford, GaTech). It doesn't matter if the quality of instruction is the same, the fact of the matter is that now there are (example) 5 times more people with the same degree as you. Imagine 5 times more people from your school (and same degree program!) are applying to the same job you are. Or better yet, imagine competing against 5 exact copies of yourself. You must have been qualified to get admitted to the school, so assuming the admissions standards do not drop, it now becomes more difficult for you to compete. If I'm a recruiter (or faculty member looking for new hires), I have to devise other means of "screening" out applicants. This new "screening" out process may not have existed before the online program existed and you, as a degree holder, will have to pass this brand new filter which was the result of increased enrollment (i.e. online degrees).