TWO years ago Charmaine Wright reached a crossroads in her career. The 35-year-old National Commercial Bank (NCB) marketing manager wanted to aquire a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) to boost her marketability in the job market but didn’t want to lose two years studying abroad.

“Frankly, I was pressured into doing my MBA for professional advancement. People who worked for me already had theirs and at NCB education is highly valued. So I knew for me to advance within my organisation there was no way around it. I had also identified a job I wanted and I knew doing the MBA would put me in a very good position,” she informed Sunday Finance.

Wright solved her predicament by enrolling in the distance learning MBA programme offered by the University of Leicester — she would pursue her MBA online.

Indeed, as advertised by the university on its website, the main advantage of study by distance learning as in an online programme is that you have the flexibility to study on your own time and from anywhere you please, such as the comfort of your home — one’s physical presence is not required at the institution itself and there are no timetabled classes to attend.

Web-based degrees are rapidly gaining prominence internationally, with online degree enrolment accounting for 25 per cent of total enrolment in the US as of 2008. That’s up from just under 10 per cent of total enrolment in 2002, according to the 2009 Sloan Survey of Online Learning.

The online degree phenomenon is nowhere near robust in Jamaica, but more local professionals, like Wright, are looking towards it as a convenient alternative to a traditional degree programme.

“With the search for and desire to acquire additional education, more and more students are looking beyond the traditional institutions. Online universities have become a popular alternative to traditional seating in classrooms on a campus,” noted Brenda Cuthbert, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF).

Local tertiary institutions have taken notice of the trend, even though the University Council of Jamaica — the body responsible for standards and quality in tertiary education on the island — reported that to date it has not been asked by any institution to accredit any programme being delivered fully online.

Several University of the West Indies (UWI) programmes are offered by the UWI Open Campus online, such as bachelor’s degree programmes in Education Leadership and Management; Literacy Studies and Secondary Education, which is done in collaboration with UWI, Mona; and Primary Education, which is done in collaboration with UWI, St Augustine. UWI Open Campus also offers online education graduate degree programmes in Adult and Continuing Education and Literacy Instruction. There are also three postgraduate diplomas offered online: Adult and Continuing Education, Literacy Instruction and Instructional Design.

“The UWI degrees that are delivered online are the same quality of the UWI degrees that are delivered face-to-face. Online is (just) a delivery methodology,” said Simone Augier, campus registrar, UWI Open Campus.

The University of Technology (UTech) said it currently offers six degrees and eight postgraduate certificates fully online to the open market through the Faculty of Engineering & Computing (FENC) in collaboration with US-based Regis University. The Master of Science (Msc) degree programmes relate to the areas of Database Technologies, Information Technology Management, Software Engineering and Database Technologies, and Software Engineering. The sostgraduate certificate programmes are in Database Administration with Oracle, Database Development, Enterprise Java Software Development, Enterprise Resource Planning, Executive Information Technologies, Software Engineering, Software Area Networks and Systems Engineering, the university said.

What’s more is that UTech offers several blended learning (face-to-face and online) degree programmes and by 2012, most UTech faculties will have at least one blended degree programme for its on-campus students.

“UTech is currently preparing most of its degrees to be delivered by online blended learning to the open market. It is anticipated that in 2012, three fully online degrees will be offered to the open market through the College of Business & Management (COBAM),” said Dr Jeanette Bartley-Bryan, associate vice- president, Office of Distance Learning, UTech.

There is indication, too, that online degree programmes have the respect of those doing the hiring in the job market, but employers stress that the programme must be accredited for it to be taken seriously.

“Students have a responsibility to ensure that the course of study is accredited and useful in their quest to use the ‘qualification earned’ in the job market,” said Cuthbert.

“Employers in their search, recruitment and employment processes have a duty to ensure the authenticity of the qualifications offered by the prospect in order to protect the organisation and what it stands for in terms of its vision, mission and goals, as well as to maintain the business, its products and services, and provide shareholder and customer value,” added the JEF CEO.

Fittingly, the firm that online-degree aspirant Wright works for, NCB, has an open-minded policy towards the trend.

“The dynamic evolution of technology has led to the ease with which knowledge can be transferred. Therefore, as an organisation that embraces innovation and creativity, we would naturally embrace diverse methods of disseminating knowledge,” noted NCB human resource relationship manager Sandra Grey.

“Online learning will be greatly enhanced by this evolution and will be very appealing to persons whose schedules are impacted by work and other commitments. We are of the view that once an institution is appropriately accredited, then its graduates are equally welcomed to seek employment with our organisation,” said Grey.

As for Wright, she said while it’s still challenging to balance school and work, she’s proceeding fine and gaining the same benefits as she would from a traditional MBA programme.

“The benefits don’t just come at the end of the programme, there are so many times when I am wrestling with problems at work, I have solved (them) with principles learned or resources that I now have through the University,” she disclosed.

And most importantly, Wright noted that on the day of her University of Leicester class’s graduation ceremony in the United Kingdom:

“I will be walking across the stage like all the other graduates and get the same degree.”