Tens of thousands of working Americans have jumped on the distance learning bandwagon in their search for a better paying job with real career prospects. The popularity of the online degree is based in large part on a flexible scheduling model and the added convenience of taking classes from the comfort of home. But are employers truly enthusiastic about the qualifications of students who pursue an online degree?

The answer to this question is driven in part by the realities of the education marketplace. Distance learning is becoming so popular that employers unwilling to accept qualified online graduates may soon find themselves on the outside looking in. More than half of the country's colleges and universities now offer online course and degree programs, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). While no hard figures are yet available, the Center estimates that online enrollment could top six million students in 2006. The University of Phoenix Online, the nation's leading online university, counted more than 115,000 students on its rolls in late 2004, the last period for which figures are available.

With no signs that the popularity of online learning will abate, employers simply cannot afford to overlook the qualifications of online graduates. But an initial study of the phenomenon by Vault.com, a website specializing in career information, revealed a strong preference by employers for a more conventional degree path. Degrees requiring actual physical attendance at traditional brick-and-mortar universities were still preferred over online institutions by a substantial margin. An online diploma bearing the name of a well-known Ivy League or Big Ten school may well carry more weight than a degree from purely "virtual" institution in the eyes of some human resource professionals.

Happily, there's more to a degree than the name on a diploma and whether the degree was earned strictly on campus. More recent studies - some commissioned by online universities themselves - show that job applicants holding a degree from an accredited online university now enjoy more or less equal footing with graduates from their brick-and-mortar competitors. The focus seems more and more to be on accreditation, a process in which universities participate in voluntary reviews of their academic program by one of six regional accrediting agencies in the United States. Accreditation means that an online college or university fulfills uniform standards that apply equally to both traditional on-campus centers of learning as well as online institutions. Visit the Department of education website at www.ed.gov for a list of accredited colleges and universities throughout the United States.

There are situations in which employers appear more willing to accept the qualifications that go with an online degree. A case in point is the existing employee eager to improve his or her career qualifications. Employers frequently provide the financial incentive for such employees because an online degree can make the employee more valuable to the company. In the case of the University of Phoenix Online, for example, almost 60 percent of students report that their employer chips in some or all of their online tuition.

Online learning should continue to grow faster than any other education segment for the foreseeable future, says the National Center for Education Statistics. Assuming it's a regionally accredited college or university that grants an online degree, distance learning grads can be confident that their diploma will find favor in the workplace.

Matt Paolini works from home as a distance learner. Visit University of Phoneix or University of Pheonix for free distance learning info.