July 7, 2009 SHRM Poll: Credibility of Online Degrees

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM 2009 How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about accredited online university courses and/or degree programs versus accredited traditional university (i.e., brick-and-mortar) courses and/or degree programs: 2 Differences by organization sector: Compared with government agencies (31%), privately owned for-profit companies (55%) are more likely to prefer job applicants with traditional university degrees to applicants with online university degrees. Online university degrees are in general viewed more favorably today than five years ago.

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM 2009 In your experience, how often do job applicants identify on their resumes whether their degrees are obtained via online universities? 3 n = 490 Note: “Not sure” responses were excluded from this analysis. Small-staff-sized organizations = 1-99 employees, medium-staff-sized = employees, large-staff-sized = 500 or more employees. Differences by organization staff size and sector: Small companies (29%) were more likely than large companies (14%) to report that job applicants never identified if their degrees were obtained via online universities. Compared with nonprofit companies (16%), government agencies (38%) are more likely to report that job applicants never identified if their degrees were obtained via online universities.

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM 2009 Has the percentage of your workforce participating in tuition assistance program increased, stayed the same or decreased in the past 12 months due to the current economic recession? 4 n = 322

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM 2009 In the last 12 months, what percentage of your workforce participated in your organization's tuition assistance (i.e., financial reimbursement) program? 5 n = 333 Note: “Not sure” responses were excluded from this analysis. Small-staff-sized organizations = 1-99 employees, medium-staff-sized = employees, large-staff-sized = 500 or more employees. Differences by organization staff size: Compared with small companies (8%), large companies (25%) are more likely to report that 6-10% of their workforce took advantage of the company’s tuition assistance program in the last 12 months.

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM 2009 Do you provide the same amount of tuition assistance (i.e., financial reimbursement) for courses taken through accredited online universities as for courses taken through accredited traditional universities for the same degree level (e.g., undergraduate degree)? 6 n = 406 Note: Only respondents whose organizations provide tuition reimbursement are included in this analysis.

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM n = 494 Organization Staff Size

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM Organization Sector n = 557

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM 2009 Organization Industry Manufacturing18% Health Care, Social Assistance (e.g., in-home care, nursin 11% Services - Professional, Scientific, Technical, Legal, Eng 11% Other Services (e.g., other nonprofit, church/religious)7% Retail / Wholesale Trade6% Educational Services/Education5% Financial Services (e.g., Banking)5% Government / Public Administration - Federal, State/Local, 5% Construction, Mining, Oil & Gas4% Insurance4% Transportation, Warehousing (e.g., distribution)4% Arts, Entertainment, Recreation3% Consulting2% High-Tech2% Real Estate, Rental, Leasing2% Services - Accommodation, Food & Drinking Places2% Telecommunications2% Utilities2% Association - Professional/Trade1% Biotech1% Pharmaceutical1% Publishing, Broadcasting, Other Media1% Other1% 9 n = 494

SHRM Poll, July 7, 2009 | ©SHRM 2009 SHRM Poll – Credibility of Online Degrees Response rate = 19% Sample comprised of 573 randomly selected HR professionals from SHRM’s membership. Margin of error = +/- 5%. Survey fielded the week of July 6, Methodology