Schools Online Gaining In Popularity!
It seems more and more people are going online. Whether they are signing up with Facebook or posting their band’s latest video on MySpace, the online world has become so dense it’s no longer being called “the Web” and the newest jargon is calling it “the cloud”. A report just released by the Sloan Consortium now says education is going the same way, which makes the convenience of online schools a favorite for all students.
The article interviewed every institute of higher learning they could. Sloane reports of the 18.2 million college students getting higher education, 4.6 million were now taking e-learning. This was a 17% growth. At the same time, land-based universities only saw 1.2% growth over the same period. 82% of the virtual scholars were also undergraduates. Making matters more interesting, 75% of the virtual schools have increased the diversity what they teach and 66% of the same learning centers are creating newer courses meet student demands for this virtual schooling.
The report noted a key reason for e-learning’s growth is the economy. The students realize one of the few ways they can improve their income is to upgrade their degree. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes a worker with a Bachelor’s earns $52,000 annually while the average secondary grad only gets $30,000. The four-year grad is also more likely to get benefits like health care and 401(k) plans. So earning a four year degree makes financial sense.
If that isn’t enough, getting a virtual education is considerably less expensive. When the national average of a year’s tuition is over $7,000, saving 40% on that amount adds up to literally tens of thousands of dollars. With many students looking at college loans to finance their future, that’s a significant difference and one that more and more students are choosing.
Another reason is just plain time management. Most people going online are also holding down nine-to-five jobs. This means they can’t run to an on campus class when the campus sets the schedule. Virtual classes can be taken whenever the student is done with their job, had their supper and put the kids down for the day. They also can take the class in the comfort of a bathrobe and with a fresh cup of coffee.
A final popular reason is also probably the most recent. A number of students interviewed stated they were afraid they could get things like the H1N1 flu. With an online course they can take their class from the “safety” of their home, or at least still take their courses while recovering from it.
The schools themselves aren’t the only ones studied in the report, the college professors had a thing or two to contribute. To their students, the thing they liked the most was the informal mentoring and training courses the facilities provided. The report also noted a 30% increase in approval amongst all working professors compared to previous studies.
So it appears that schools online have truly taken hold with students. Time will tell how far this trend will go, but it looks like getting your online degrees is something students are giving a lot of thought about .For more information about university distance learning degree, check the internet.
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