Having just completed an MS CS here, I can tell you that the most important part of my experience was not the course work, but rather the research opportunities

Having just completed an MS CS here, I can tell you that the most important part of my experience was not the course work, but rather the research opportunities. I spent far more time working on research projects with professors and they developed me far better than my classes did. Though the class-work might be the same, the total work will not be the same. You're getting what you paid for: an elite graduate-level education for a small fraction of the cost for people who might not be accepted otherwise which can be completed remotely at each person's own convenience. That being said, there are some pretty great professors here and you will probably learn a great deal from the classes you wouldn't be able to elsewhere. But the reality is that the two degrees will never really hold the same weight, and to pretend like they do devalues the "offline" program we worked hard and paid more money and time to get.