Students have lots of college options. Instead of having to enroll in a college or university, sometimes outside of your home area, students have the option of attending higher education classes online. With the ease of attending online college or university courses, it’s no wonder there has been growth of online degree programs. There are other reasons for this growth as well.
The numbers of online students, or E-students, have continued to increase in recent years with some statistics stating that online students have grown from 49% in 2003 to 56% in 2005. It is believed that one in ten students currently attending college does so online, with that number expected to continue to increase.
In the ‘olden days’ you had to actually attend college at the college. With online degree programs, you can attend any college you like from home, as long as they offer an online degree program. In fact, you could attend several different colleges or universities at once, if you have the time and the funds to do so.
Another reason why online degrees are so popular is the convenience of learning from home. You never have to attend a long, boring, dry lecture by a professor in a hot, stuffy, crowded room. You never even have to step foot onto the physical campus, you never have to attend a single class, or any other required assemblies required by on-campus students.
Believe it – distance learning can be cheaper than traditional classroom learning. You need not worry about room and board fees. In fact, in many cases, the online costs include all materials and textbooks required for the course rather than having to pay for each course’s books separately. You can probably envision some other ways you’d save money too.
Do you need assistance paying for an online degree? Financial aid is available for students in the form of scholarships, Pell grants, and student loans. Contact the Financial Aid department at your school of choice to find out what programs are available to online students.
A lot of people get their degrees online because they can study anytime, any place. You can access course work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. No need to be concerned about missing class, you can take them when they fit your schedule. Just get on the Web and away you go. You can also listen to the course lectures over in case you’ve missed something.
After you’ve completed your degree, check with the college or university to see if they have a career services center to help you get a job in your new profession. In many cases the school will help you obtain a job, although there may be additional costs associated with this service.
One can study just about anything online, from nursing to psychology and criminal justice. If this is the case, the faculty and staff will be up-to-date on current market trends. They can more easily adjust curriculum to match current trends which could give those students a leg up on other students entering the job market at the same time.
Unlike traditional colleges and universities, online degree programs often use faculty that have real-life work experience in relation to the subjects they’re teaching. You could pursue an online psychology or nursing degree online. Are you interested in banking? One of your instructors may be a vice-president of a bank. Is Criminal Justice more your style? What student wouldn’t like to be taught the tricks of the trade by someone who’s actually apprehended a felon rather than just read about it in books.
True, these reasons aren’t the only ones that a student considering an online degree program might use to help them decide whether this method of education is for them. However, these aspects are important ones to think about along with finding answers to your own questions. It’s easy to research distance learning. You might be surprised to see how well it fits your life.
