I can understand it is not directly programming related. But if you're learning or doing degree via e-learning method. Or to be precise Distance learning then is it counted by fellow programmers and HR's ? and interviewers ?
Do e-learning degrees/certificates from Universities have any value in programming world ? and in recruitment ?
The most important criteria when it comes to degree, in my experience, is whether or not you have one. Issues such as what school you got it from, what you studied and what grades you got can all be of varying important to different potential employers but they all pale into comparison.
There are exceptions: you'll have a much better chance getting a job at Google or Microsoft if your degree is from Stanford, UW or MIT than if it is a distance learning degree. But getting such a job is not impossible without.
Of course, not everyone can go to such a prestigious school. It's hard to get in, probably going to be expensive and there may be other circumtsnaces that interfere so do what you can. Do something as opposed to nothing. Your CV will read like a story of who you are. If your CV reads like someone who was supporting a family while studying part-time to get a degree, that's fine. If your CV reads like someone who sat around doing nothing for a year other than complaining about not being to find a job, that says something else.
Certifications are mostly worthless. Occasionally you'll find HR departments that provide some weight to have them but that'll only get you through one layer in the hiring process. By the time you get to any technical people, the value will have dropped to (near) zero.
I think it depends largely on which institution you get the degree from. If it's a well-regarded university there's no reason to treat the degree any differently from one that was earned on-site. If you get your degree for $149 from a "prestigious non-accredited university" advertised in a spam e-mail, don't be surprised if it doesn't impress anybody.
For our company, degrees/certificates is one factor in your resume that can attract HR's attention. But after that, questions related to degree/certificate during phone screen or in-person interview rarely come up. It may come up again during the hiring discuss at the end, but the decision ultimately depends on how well you did in the interview.
I really can't see the relevance of how you obtained your degree and how it matters to fellow programmers and HR staff. When I got my programming job it was "Have you got a degree in Computer Science?", tick the checkbox and they're happy. They couldn't give two hoots whether I got it from an actual university I attended or a distance learning degree. The fact of the matter is that both require an equal amount of work and are educationally equivalent.
Talking of distance learning I'm actually starting my masters degree in Software Engineering with the Open University next month and my work value it highly enough to give me sufficient funding for it, so employers must think that they're just as good.
I find this an odd question though, I can't see how it would matter bar what cletus mentioned.
My concern is that what matters most in getting a job is inter-personal contacts. For example, if I'm an employer who has a vacancy, and if one of my trusted employees tells me that they know someone who can do the job, then it wouldn't matter to me whether that person has a programming degree at all.
The problem then (I'm guessing) with distance learning is that it might give you fewer personal contacts (for example fellow students, professors, the university career guidance office, and employers doing internship programs with the university) than the other kind.