Last year, I tutored calculus I to a undergraduate student who took an online course at a prestigious university (unnamed as not to offend any)
For the most part, the most important part of taking college courses is conversation with the professor and fellow students. These two key aspects help students to understand the material.

Without these, online students are subject to slow-response emails that may not even answer the question correctly.
Students who take online courses most often than not receive high marks no matter how well the material is learned. There seems to be a high degree of cheating, elevation of grades, and other factors that make these courses rather biased.

Because online universities are hard to standardize and students do not receive nearly as much attention in learning the material, I do not think the marks that students receive will be taken seriously.

Online universities exist to fulfill a need for a certain type of student. With budget cuts across state universities and crowded classes in community colleges, more people are turning to online universities as another option in earning an education. However, online universities fulfill this need in a variety of different ways, like completely online, online programs offered through brick-and-mortar universities, and blended learning. Online learning comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and provides another option for a student to create a personalized education. With the increasing technology of educational tools and the growing number of students turning to online universities as a viable option, online universities will be taken more serious as time goes on.

Currently, there is a negative connotation with online universities. Many students do not know what to research when picking an online program. So, a few bad apples take advantage of that, including diploma mills. The more knowledgeable students are, the better able they can pick the program that fits their needs. eLearners has a guide on listing the top 10 myths related to online education, so students are aware.

http://www.elearners.com/guide-to-online-education/top-10-myths-about-distance-learning.asp

They also have a guide on the questions students should ask when considering an online program. Consumers have a lot of power in deciding what succeeds and what does not. The law does too.

What I think is interesting is how people mention that with online universities, it is easy to cheat. However, in my experience of going to a state university, it is also incredibly easy to cheat at a brick-and-mortar school. How are three TAs and a professor going to watch over 500+ students as they take their midterm or final? If a student is going to cheat, he or she is going to cheat, regardless of the setting. Does that mean that employers should not consider students who earned their degree at colleges with large lecture halls? Of course not. Just because the temptation is there does not mean the degree earner engaged in that behavior.

Online universities exist because people succeed in them. But it does require a certain type of person. Is online education right for everyone? No. People need to be self-motivated and responsible enough to actually do their work and derive value from their education. Is online education perfect for every single program out there? No. That is why students need to research. Can online education be a viable, legitimate option for some people? Absolutely. The growth in technology allows some online programs to replicate and even be better than a classroom education, increasing their acceptance, as people shift their views and realize that people earning degrees via online have equivalent knowledge in that specific program, as people who earned their degree in the classroom. Students and employers just need to be knowledgeable about what they’re getting into. But yeah, the newest generation is already heavily using online educational tools, which only leads to a natural trend towards acceptance of online universities, in whichever form it takes.