Online University Facts You Should Know
Online education, also known as distance learning, used to be considered a less popular way to obtain a college degree. In fact, it wasn’t even possible to obtain an online degree before Charles Wedemeyer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison brought the idea to America in 1964.
As more colleges started to require students to purchase computers and use the internet, more people decided that they could use their technology skills to enroll in online university programs.
The number of students obtaining online university degrees has increased by 30% each year for the past few years, and that number continues to grow. Eduventures, a leading authority in education research and consulting, even predicts that one out of every 10 college students will be in an online degree program by 2009.
So, besides the obvious boost in online university enrollment over the years, here are some other interesting online university facts and online degree facts:
Pay Less Gain Just as Much
One thing that’s true about college is that it’s expensive! Even if you qualify for college student financial aid you still have other school expenses. According to CollegeBoard.com the average cost per year for a public college education is $6,585. But online education courses are significantly cheaper than traditional school course. Why? You can factor out the cost of housing, a meal plan, transportation and any other on-campus costs.
Gain Technological Advancements
One very obvious online university fact is that you’ll gain knowledge about different technology platforms, as well as master using your computer. The Department of Education states that the use of digital technology for school motivates students to learn more and even increases the learning possibilities for more diverse students.
Depending on the type of class that you take, you may be required to join online forums, to submit answers to an online blackboard system, to stream audio and visual files or to create digital presentations.
Better Preparation for the Future
According to a U.S. Department of Labor report, 80% of the jobs and career profiles that will exist in the year 2010 do not even exist today. A huge percentage of these jobs will be learned online, many of them through online university programs.
Continue Your Education
A study conducted by the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium stated that over 90% of online students would take another online course. This means that online education programs have a high retention rate, and that they are interesting and informative enough to keep people coming back for more.
These online education facts are proof of the growing popularity of online universities. The convenience of enrolling in accredited online universities will continue to grow as more students take advantage of distance education.
