Diplomas and certificates differ in the requirements and the time that is required to earn each achievement. Depending on your career goals, both forms of achievements may be necessary for certain fields. Diplomas and certification programs can be obtained at online schools via distance education.

Take a look at the 6 basic differences between online diplomas and online certificates.

Online Certificate Program at a Glance

1. Certificates are awarded to students after taking a series of courses relating to a specific subject. Students often earn certificates to advance in their field. In certain technical programs, a certificate may be required.
2. There are also graduate certificates. These certificates are taken either alone or alongside a graduate degree program. Students often use their electives to fulfill a certificate in order to become more of an asset to an employer.
3. Core courses are not required for certificate programs. These programs are similar to associate’s degree however they take less time to complete.

Online Diploma Program at a Glance

4. A diploma is earned after completion of an academic course of study. They require the completion of specific academic courses and a number of elective classes. For example diplomas are awarded to high school graduates by colleges & universities, and other institutions that offer online diploma programs to students pursuing degrees. In most cases, credits from diploma programs can be transferred to degree programs.
5. Graduate online diploma programs give students the opportunity to take master’s-level courses without pursuing a specific degree.
6. Diplomas allow students to gain specialized knowledge without having to dedicate too much time or money that is required to earn a master’s degree. However, course credits from a diploma program can be applied to a master’s degree program.

It is easy to get confused when trying to figure out the differences between a diploma and a certificate. However, there are certain differences between diploma and certification programs and depending on your chosen field and career goals, both achievements may be necessary to do the job. If you are not certain which program to take, talk to your school advisor to point you in the right direction.

According to a recent survey, a little over 60 percent of employers still do not believe online degrees hold the same value as traditional degrees. However, after a more thorough discussion about online degrees, employers began to realize that online degrees are in fact just as valuable as offline degrees.

Credibility of an Online Degree

There is still some skepticism out there about online degrees and concerns still exists which is understandable, however the acceptance of online degrees by employers as we can see from the survey is on the rise and is most likely to continue in that direction. The more employers are educated about distance education and online degrees the more acceptable online degrees will become.

How Do Employers View Online Degrees?

In the beginning, employers were a bit hesitant to hire individuals with online degrees and that’s because this was something new and they were not familiar with distance education. However, today that has changed. A lot of employers are beginning to take notice and giving distance education the credit it deserves. Some of these employers believe that students who successfully go through online learning and have earned online degree possess some of the most admirable skills and qualities they admire including:

• Disciplined
• Hardworking
• Dedicated
• Do better on the job
• Go getters
• Possess excellent time management skills
• And much more

Sell You Online Degree to Employers

Most employers, when reviewing perspective candidates for a position do not necessarily question how a degree was earned so there is really no need to disclose the method used to earn your degree. However, if the question arises, then be honest about your online degree, but at the same time sell yourself. Here are a few things you can do to make your online degree more acceptable to employers:

• Give your Online Degree a boost: Sell yourself, make sure to include all applicable work experience to enhance your online degree.
• Highlight Extracurricular Activities: Show your extracurricular activities and skills that will compliment your online degree such as voluntary work, community service participation, second language and public speaking skills, or any relevant activities that will show your diversity in a variety of settings.
• Compare Online and Offline Degrees: Convince employers that online and offline degrees are identical by comparing what both schools offer in terms of quality higher education, accreditation, identical curriculum and course work, and qualified faculty.

Your employers’ acceptability to Online Degree

Overall, online learning is beginning to get the credit and recognition it deserves. Employers’ acceptability is on the rise. Online enrollment has increased over the years, which means online learning is working. Distance education has educated and trained millions of students nationwide and this new trend will definitely increase as more and more people find online learning to be the only option to earn a college degree.

In the past, critics of the online learning format viewed distance education with much skepticism. They believed this type of learning model lacked the quality instructional design that a traditional classroom environment provides. Today, research conducted consistently reveals that there is no distinct difference between distance learning and traditional classroom learning. In addition, the growing popularity of distance learning has influenced most organizations involved in education and training to include virtual education in their future programs.

Top Schools providing Distance Education

The growing popularity of distance learning has raised the level and quality of programs offered by online institutions of higher education. Students have the ability to choose from a wide array of undergraduate and graduate programs to meet their specific interests and career objectives. Some of these leading institutions include:

• Walden University
• Kaplan University
• Capella University
• AIU Online

Advantages of Distance Education

The primary advantage of distance learning is the matter of flexibility, particularly to international students seeking to obtain a degree from an accredited US-based institution. It allows them a wider choice of institutions to suit their specific interests and one that meets the requirements of the appropriate accrediting agencies. It also provides a great opportunity for busy working professionals to gain the additional training they need to advance within their respective fields without having to leave their jobs to attend a traditional campus-based institution. Other advantages of distance education include:


Accessibility: increased access for individuals living far away from the institution and those with restricted mobility such as the handicapped or elderly


Unlimited Information Access: distance education allows for unlimited access to expert information via online research databases. In addition, most online institutions boast a digital library that allows their students to access digital books and research materials.


Increases Interaction with Technology: the online learning format allows students to conduct interactive teamwork between groups. They have the opportunity to network with each other from anywhere around the world via chat rooms, bulletin board discussions or emails.


Reduced Cost: distance learning allows for reduced tuition fees due to not utilizing the institution’s physical resources.

Students also have the ability to seek expert advice and conduct interactive discussions with instructors via internet chat rooms and emails. This fosters and promotes an intuitive and better learning environment between instructor and student. The added advantage of the online learning is students can email assignments to their instructors at anytime of the day, also the ability to revisit coursework until they have fully mastered the material.