moneylaunchmykid.com

Mastering the Challenge of an Online Degree

Mastering the Challenge of an Online Degree

Time or money?

How about both?

While the idea of an online college education for your son or daughter may sound sterile and dull (no more football games or toga parties!), it may be something you, or they, should look at if your finances are thin, stret…ched orMIA after our recent economic implosion.

Here are some interesting 2008 stats on college online enrollment from a study by Sloan.org:

Over 3.9 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2007 term; a 12 percent increase over the number reported the previous year.

The 12.9 percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 1.2 percent growth of the overall higher education student population.

Over twenty percent of all U.S. higher education students were taking at least one online course in the fall of 2007.

And why not? There are many advantage unrelated to panty raids (do they still do that?) and keggers (I KNOW they still do that), for the stay-at-home student. and the cash strapped mom and dad. Yes, online tuition is typically somewhat cheaper; but, more importantly, the major expense of room and board is eliminated and fees of all sorts are drastically reduced or nonexistent. Better, for many, is the savings in time. No long, after-work commutes for the community college student, no slogs to campus classrooms, no strict class schedules, no struggling to keep up. Learn at your own pace, in your own time and in the comfort of your undershorts if you are so inclined. For a broader discussion of advantages and disadvantages, go here.

But are these kinds of degrees good? The answers are yes…and no. Diploma mills can still be a problem the answers are yes…and no. There is no question that online courses are acceptable, and growing. All major universities offer online courses in some or all of their disciplines. On line degrees, however, should always be from an accredited institution to have the widest possible acceptance. Other surveys have shown a wide and growing acceptance among employers for online education.

Here are a couple of additional sites to do a little more homework of your own: Online College Guru seems the best of a small bunch. And Best Colleges Online ,though a bit less robust is also a good place to start.

So what can your kid do with all that free time and saved moneuy? Right. Start saving and get a job!