My friend worked at the University of Phoenix before online degrees were really big.  He was a school and job counselor of sorts, and since then he has actually stayed with them through quite a few different changes.  He has helped them in some ways to achieve greater benefits, and he has helped quite a few students.  But something he told me the other day.  He’s noticed a higher failure rate than with the students who actually come onto a regular campus.  He has worked with other universities as well.  It’s not just the students being in different generations or anything like that, they are actually failing, because it’s hard.  The reality is that some people don’t have the discipline for an online degree.  They go in thinking it will be easy.  But realistically speaking, you have to have a sort of commitment that some people just don’t have.  People who don’t have to go to class are more likely to get distracted, not do their homework, etc.  This is why though I’ve known some to succeed, when most people use packets to get through high school or otherwise faster, it generally doesn’t work out like you planned.