[aothman]

As an elitist alum, I don't like these programs one bit. I can't help but feel that they are, in a small but meaningful way, watering down the value of my degree. And even though it's petty, I'm chagrined that my diploma features English rather than Latin text.

Harvard's Extension School was designed to teach the greater Boston community, and I think it should be a vehicle to improve town-gown relations, by convincing locals to not perceive Harvard as "the other". I certainly don't think it should have as part of its mission handing out Masters degrees to people from Kansas over the Internet.

[Nrsolis]

Full Disclosure: I earned my bachelor's degree (an ALB) via the Extension School (HES) and graduated in 2009.

I'm disappointed in your comment. Firstly, it reflects an almost complete disconnect between what HES's stated mission is and what a lot of students at the College believe it to be. I'm often shocked by how /little/ the College students know about HES.

First and foremost, HES has been around for 100 years. It's changed over the years but its mission is essentially the same: provide an education for those whose life circumstances/obligations preclude them from committing to full-time study at a residential school.

You might disagree, but I took a lot of the EXACT same CS courses from the EXACT same professors that the College students took, and I wasn't particularly impressed with the engagement of my younger peers. My impression of many of them was one of "putting in time." I was often more engaged than my classmates and one of my professors was quite happy to allow me to sit in class alongside them. I wasn't near the top of the class but I certainly didn't bring up the rear either. I also had the opportunity to take a lot of classes that aren't necessarily part of the "core" program required of HC students and expand the boundaries of my academic career.

Second, the article title is more than a bit misleading. You can't earn a degree from Harvard completely online AT ALL. For the ALM/IT, you're going to have to spend a decent chunk of your time in Cambridge attending classes. At substantial portion of that time will be spent working on a thesis which is nearly equivalent to a full Ph.D dissertation by some accounts.

Finally, never forget that nearly all of the HES students are holding down a full career while pursuing their studies. I worked a full week and commuted to Cambridge (from DC) once a week to attend my two classes. A third I pursued via distance-ed during that same semesters. In some semesters, all of my classes were distance ed; in others, none.

It took me 4 years to complete the 2 years of school I needed to complete a degree I abandoned to chase my fortunes in the Internet industry. It was hard hard work and I'm very happy I did it. You should be thankful for the fellow alums who enrich your student body with their years of experience in industry.

BTW, I also too CSCI E-131b (ommunication Protocols and Internet Architectures). Didn't study. Didn't read the book. Earned an A. In at least one case, a particular networking technology we were discussing in class was developed and deployed by one of my colleagues.

One more thing for the rest of the HN community: if you think you're programming hot-stuff, you should take Mitzenmacher's "Introduction to Algorithms" class. I did and it was a real wakeup call. You might find yourself humbled.

[ziadbc]

Harvard educates the world, and you'd rather their mission be a way "improve town-gown relations, by convincing locals to not perceive Harvard as "the other"

Seems completely unfounded, and yes, categorically elitist.

[kcm11]

There are much more effective ways of educating the world without charging thousands of dollars and handing out degrees (e.g. MIT's OCW program).

[holdenc]

Well, if you went to Harvard for a "valuable degree" then I really don't feel sorry for you. You are lucky to have gone, and should consider your degree a parting gift at best. As a grad student at Yale I had to endure this same elitism from many undergraduates who felt Yale's graduate schools were diluting the prestige of their degrees. If you are like me, you have already found that the people who really care about degrees are often the ones least likely to trust their own good judgement.

[amitagrawal]

The last time I heard colleges like Harvard were built to impart education to anyone who wanted one and if they were capable enough to get it.

I don't think the founding motto of Harvard was to create any kind of elitism among the people who drank from it's fountain of knowledge but to spread the truth (as in an education).

Even if Harvard stopped handing out these extension degrees the knowledge they're opening up to anyone through their free content is unstoppable. Kudos to MIT, Harvard and countless other colleges for opening up the knowledge that was beyond the reach of a majority of the population all over the world!

Not everyone can attend elite colleges even if they deserved one!

edit: grammar correction.

[jonmc12]

Can you help me understand your statement 'watering down the value of my degree'? I'm curious, why do you feel that way?

[kcm11]

Like it or not, part of the value of a Harvard degree is the signaling effect it carries. The signaling effect is, in large part, due to the selectivity of the school and the coursework.

Put more directly... if the extension school has a 10x higher acceptance rate and has easier classes, then it is probably diluting the signaling effect a bit.

[kwis]

What evidence do you have that extension classes are easier than their traditional counterparts? It's certainly easier to get into Extension than other Harvard colleges, but I see no evidence it's easier to graduate.

[kcm11]

Mostly anecdotal, several of my friends have took classes through the program in high school. That's not to say that extension classes are trivial by any means.

[jonmc12]

I don't disagree that the signalling of a pedigree brand is valuable. However, the signalling of accomplishment is much louder than credential.

So, my curiosity was based on the emotional investment in the credential, when I would think a Harvard grad would believe themselves capable of producing accomplishments that far out-signal their degree.

[kcm11]

That's fair -- perhaps most of the sentiments regarding "diluted brand" probably come from younger grads or current students who are less sure of themselves and have fewer real-world accomplishments to rest on.

[Nrsolis]

Not most. ALL.

Those of us who have already established ourselves in a career feel less insecure about our credentials than your typical Crimson "English" concentrator.

I, for one, have never felt particularly threatened by 19 year-olds.

[Nrsolis]

That signaling effect works both ways:

1. There are plenty of people who automatically consider Ivy Leaguers a threat and work to undermine them almost as a matter of principle.

2. Simple mistakes made by Ivy Leaguers are often amplified by those with an axe to grind.

[Locke1689]

Well, there's at least one thing that's missing from this degree program which is a core part of the Harvard traditional degree system -- strenuous admission requirements and filtering.

[Nrsolis]

Oh, one more thing Abe:

http://dataprivacylab.org/people/sweeney/index.html

She got her bachelor's from HES. She's now running a department at CMU. You should drop by and visit her when she's back from MIT.