Abstract—This study addresses the debate on whether job
applicants with online bachelor degrees would be perceived to
be equals of those with traditional bachelor degrees; and
whether the nature of the degree has an impact on the hiring
decision of managers. We focus on bachelor’s degrees earned
on line due to the fact that hybrid education is not being
delivered prevalently. In this respect, data were gathered from
20 managers working in various sectors who have an impact
on the hiring process of job applicants. Findings indicate
gatekeepers prefer applicants with traditional degrees. Besides
factors associated with the preference of traditional degrees
are found to be in line with previous research findings.
Education quality, gain of competencies, development of
communication skills, personal growth and the importance of
student-instructor interaction were mostly repeated factors
associated with the preference of traditional university degrees.
Implications for future research are discussed in line with
suggestions to overcome negative perceptions towards distance
education.
Index Terms—Online degrees, job applicants, hiring
decisions, managers.
The authors are with Organizational Behavior, School of Business,
Istanbul University, Turkey (e-mail: nilselenay@gmail.com,
tekars@istanbul.edu.tr).
Cite: Nil Selenay Erden and Erdal Tekarslan, "How do Managers Regard Job Applicants with Online Degrees? Evidence from Turkey," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 35-38, 2014.