Brandon Laxton got his associate degree in business in 2003, but he never left his house. Laxton graduated from an online college called the University of Phoenix.

He had seen advertisements for the college in books and magazines. It was ideal for a working man who didn’t have time to attend classes every day.

“At that time, I was in my late 20s and heavily involved in a career. I could work early and late,” he said.

A study conducted by the Sloan Consortium found that online enrollment in college classes is growing. According to the study, about 2.3 million students took online classes in fall 2004 and 3.2 million did in fall 2005.

But are students getting a quality education? How are online classes viewed in the job market? And are employers willing to hire people who took online classes or got online degrees?

“Just as a general practice, they’d be at a disadvantage,” said Phil Clark, vice president of Strategic Sales at Electronic Data Systems.

Taking online classes wouldn’t necessarily eliminate hiring someone for the job, but four-year universities are preferred, he said.

However, an in-person interview gives anyone who went to any college a better shot at landing a job.

On the other hand, according to the study, administrators are more open to the idea of online classes. It found that the number of academic leaders who believe online education is as good or superior to face-to-face education has risen to 62 percent in 2006 from 57 percent in 2003.

The graduate classes offered online at the Arizona State University School of Engineering are just as rigorous as face-to-face classes, said J. Kim McNutt, the director of the ASU engineering online program. The online classes have the same lectures, the same homework, the same exams, and all students earn the same degree.

“It’s definitely not easier than face-to-face. In essence it’s more difficult,” he said. He emphasized the self-motivation that these types of classes require.

Although online graduate degrees are common, said McNutt, online bachelor’s degrees are not as acceptable to most people.

“If I were an HR person, I’d be more likely to hire someone from a bricks-and-mortar university,” he said.

The Sloan Consortium study also found that college faculty does not always accept the value of online learning.

“You lose sort of the key thing that college is about,” said Dr. David Doyle, the director of the Southern Methodist University Honors Program and a professor.

The face-to-face interaction between students and professors is the way teaching works, he said.

Doyle understands that online degrees offer a convenience to students they may not get from a traditional university.

Other professors said the Internet can be beneficial, but also believe classes are more effective when they’re taught in person.

“The internet and iPods are great resources,” said Derek Kompare, an SMU cinema-television assistant professor.

However, he wouldn’t recommend them as replacements for traditional classes.

In contrast, professors at online colleges believe that they do offer interaction and rigorous course requirements.

The skill set of the faculty is the most important factor at any university, whether online or traditional, said Peter Wright, a professor at the University of Phoenix.

“The focus is on accessibility to education,” he said. “Students can get the education when they can, on their schedule.”

There is not a problem with interaction, he said. The interaction is almost more intimate because it is one-to-one and often every day.

In his online classes, he requires students to do interactive work five times per week, as opposed to having class only two or three days per week.

As for the acceptability of online degrees in the work place, Wright thinks more hiring managers are getting their degrees online. These managers hire more employees with online degrees. Also, more companies are offering online classes to their employees to help develop their careers.

“I think it’s a matter of time before the online degree permeates the work world,” he said.

Not only the work world, but traditional universities will have to open their doors to online classes. Offering these classes will allow these traditional universities to attract students from all over the world, not just those willing to move to the campus.

“The bracket of students that are in that 18 to 23 range is shrinking dramatically,” Wright said. “Institutions have to meet them where they are.”

SMU does not currently have a completely online program in any department, but the engineering school does have a program called Distance Education. These courses include lectures on DVD or that can be streamed to a PC.

“The majority of the people who do Distance Education never come to class,” said Jim Dees, the SMU Senior Director of Graduate Student Experience and Enrollment Management.

Like the ASU program, the SMU program offers classes through Distance Education identical to those taught in a classroom.

“The feedback that we get is very, very positive,” Dees said.

Some SMU students would consider taking classes online from the school.

“If it was written and formatted correctly it could be as effective as a class you go to,” said SMU junior John Jardine.

Others are not as open to the idea.

“I don’t think it’d be as good. I just don’t think you’d get as much out of it,” said Robyn Byers, also a junior at SMU.