Many online programs are already respected… generally the ones that grant 4-year degrees at known universities. For example, I started a master’s at Stanford as a campus student, then decided to leave campus for a job after I was only ~2 classes in to the degree. I did the vast majority of the degree online while living and working in southern CA. Some other class members lived as far away as HP Barcelona. I took the same classes as other students, took exams at the same time as local students, and received the same degree as other students. No employer would be able to distinguish my degree from on campus students, nor should they need to.
I also have taken online classes at University of Wyoming as part of a degree program for fun. I chose Wyoming because they only charged only $70/credit (they have been dramatically increasing rates above this recently, increasing from $100/credit in 2013-14 to planned $430/credit in 2017-18). At UW online classes were separate from campus class, and in a few cases were previously recorded, such that one could go at their own pace and complete the class in days if desired. Being separate from the campus class led to different types of class interactions. It was common for the class to have discussions on forums like this one, in which both students and the professor participated. As I recall, one class required we write something like 10 posts per day on the forums. Exams usually were proctored at a local CC (or similar). All the classes required for a degree could be taken online, and I believe the degree was the same one on campus students received; so again employers would not know the difference and would respect it like other UW degrees.