Since only last year, enrollment at online colleges and school has jumped nearly 17%. Today, there are five million students who are working on continuing their education in an online format. Students who are participating in online colleges and schools come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with a wide variety of experience and education.
While many may be puzzled by this explosion of interest in online education, people who are participating can articulate a number of reasons for wanting to attend an online class. Probably the most common theme is the flexibility of online schooling. The ability to study and turn in work on your own schedule is one that many students cite. Additionally, the price of your online course may be a great factor, as well as the increased understanding by employers of the high-quality of education that can be attained with an online degree.
There are many different kinds of people who are going to online schools. Some people may be seeking on online degree because of the bad economy; if they have been laid off, they want to increase the skills that they already have, or complete a degree program to make them more marketable. Working parents are also playing a big role in the increase of enrollment. Since they essentially already have two jobs, the only time they may be able to fit in coursework is at night when the house is quiet. Students at regular colleges may also be taking online courses as a way to get the classes they need to complete their degree program more quickly.
Although there is a great diversity in the types of programs offered at online colleges, the most popular online degree program is the MBA. Following the MBA, the next top two degree programs are those in psychology and nursing. Rounding out the top ten programs in popularity are human services, accounting, health administration, counseling, early childhood education, religion, and criminal justice.
There are many reasons why the MBA program is the most sought after degree. Most MBA candidates are already working in the business world, putting in 40 or more hours a week. Going to school during the day isn’t an option, so the convenience of an online degree makes it easier for people already in business to get their MBAs.
Most MBA programs are similar in their curriculum requirements. They require their students to complete a large amount of dense reading, like corporate case studies. Being able to create a flexible reading schedule for such a large amount of reading can be one of the most attractive features of your online degree.
Once all of this heavy reading is completed, it needs to be discussed by students to disseminate the information. This is largely done in online forums like discussion boards, chat rooms, or e-mail. MBA students and professors alike benefit from the technology that is used to complete the coursework, because it may create a better classroom environment than a traditional lecture hall that has a large number of students who won’t participate.
Other online colleges require a two-week in class period, followed by a completion of the rest of the coursework online with set deadlines for various assignments. The majority of online MBA candidates recognize that getting their online business degree may be the best way for them to balance their required responsibilities.
June 27, 2010 by Natasha Bright