Online training courses are becoming more common and there are many strong web-based programs with accreditation from regional boards, and many are even affiliated with schools with strong traditional programs. Yet Web-based training programs still have a stigma attached with them. Future employers may take degrees and certificates earned online less seriously than they'd take the same credentials earned through a different path.
The online learning community is radically different from taking regular classes on a campus.
Students are generally from a wider diversity of backgrounds, many of them are adult learners who have varied day jobs and lifestyles. Although many programs will encourage or require students to discuss course material among themselves (via online discussion boards) or exchange work online for peer review, there will be much less camaraderie and personal connection than in a physical classroom.
Likewise, Web-based training will often give the student less one-on-one attention from the instructor, and the feedback they get will probably never be face-to-face, which may bother some students.
Working online will also provide students with fewer resources than might be available to them on a physical campus (such as the ability to drop in to a career-counseling office, or the ability to pop in to guest lectures).
Although Web-based training fits the learning style of some people better than traditional classroom settings, some are particularly challenged by it. Some people take information in better when it's presented to them in person, with a teacher speaking to them who can answers questions as they arise. Others find it much easier to express their own ideas, and work through those ideas, by talking with their peers in person.
Perhaps the biggest challenge Web-based training poses to many students in staying motivated. Although some programs have deadlines, others let students go at their own pace. Either way, students in online courses are much more responsible for making themselves work and not getting distracted by surfing the Web or checking their e-mail.