subject: Why More Students Opt for Online Education [print this page] Why More Students Opt for Online Education
There have been a lot of students enrolling in online schools recently. Here are some of the advantages of enrolling in an online school.
Online courses are more convenient than traditional classes; however, they need just as much work. The quality of courses varies among online degree programs. Students need to be disciplined because most of the work in online courses is done independently. Nathaniel Kennedy, director of marketing for Argosy University online programs, said "In reality, it takes a very dedicated student to succeed online."
An online education is not always the easiest way to get a degree."You get the same quality of education you'd get at a campus setting, but doing it at your own pace," Kennedy says.
Most online schools put a lot of effort in making their programs more personal. "We try to provide the same sort of comfortable and familiar academic experience that you would experience at one of our campus locations, but to do that through an online setting," Kennedy says.
There are also social gatherings, of course, but these are not the same. Forum setups, conference calls and contact information for counselors replace the more common trappings of a school setting. These are present to provide accessibility - the student can get in touch with them if the need arises.
There are some worries that an online school won't be able to provide good quality education and training. This can be true or false, depending on the school. Reputable schools do offer online programs that are on-par with their brick-and-mortar degrees. There are also schools that operate online-only that offer good quality comparable to that of a real university. Accreditation is always a good start when seeking out which ones are good and which ones are only mediocre or worse.
Earning a degree at a regionally-accredited online school means that your credits are just the same as with any actual school and thus will be accepted by most institutions. Nonetheless, transferring credits may not be very convenient and easy if you earned them from a program accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Not all schools accept programs from this accrediting body.
You don't need to be a tech genius to do well in online schools. It isn't too difficult, as long as you know the fundamental things like e-mail and chat. Most online schools are aware that not all students are tech-savvy and may have a difficult time navigating through the course so they offer support so that taking online courses are a lot easier.
Most online students earn their degrees without the need to go to an actual campus. However, there are still students who want go to both online and campus courses.
This gives them the advantage of being able to access the same facilities and resources that more traditional students can, leveling the playing field in this sense.
