The lives of students today involve long hours of work and commuting, family obligations, frequent business trips, and an uninterruptible career path. It's hard to find the time to sit in a classroom at a particular location once a week for two hours or more, let alone a year or two, to pursue a degree full time. More than often it seems practically impossible for adults who have embarked on a career to arrange their lives to make room for classroom attendance. But nowadays they don't have to make those arrangements. With online options they can still complete educational programs, qualify for tuition reimbursement and accreditation, right from their home or work computers.
Online instruction programs focus on adult students, most of who are engaged in the work force. The average age of University of Phoenix students is 38. Because they are adults, many students have prior college courses to their credit and some of the programs require prior academic and/or work experience. Most of the programs leading to degrees will award some academic credit for previous college or military study and for work/life experiences outside traditional educational structures. Almost all programs mention the possibility of transferring credits earned in the online programs to other institutions. Experienced students recognize that transfer of credit depends on the school to which credits are being transferred.
A student can attend essentially any online class by using a computer and modem to connect with the "classroom." Class sessions are held asynchronously, with students and instructors logging on to an online service's defined classroom area at any time of the day or night to read and respond to assignments and discussions. Discussions are more focused, deadlines are enforced, and intense individual participation is required, all with the notion that you can earn an academic degree without ever physically seeing your classmates or professor.
Online instruction is a more recent development than other forms of distance education such as satellite courses, computer-based programs, video instruction, educational television, correspondence or home-study courses. All of these technologies developed in an effort to move educational opportunities out from a traditional centralized classroom to students who were physically unable to attend classes at a central site at regularly scheduled times. Inability to attend regular classes may have been due to schedule or physical problems, or it may have been uneconomical for a university to offer classes in a remote location.
The revolution of personal computers made it possible to establish computer-based programs, but it is the increasing availability of modems that turns computer-based instruction into an individualized and interactive learning experience. Asynchronous attendance in the online classroom allows for more frequent exchanges between students and instructors, thereby increasing the faculty-to-student contact hour ratio. It also strengthens interaction among all students, turning other students into important and continuing instructional and support resources. Online education programs have a great advantage over other forms of distance education because they can overcome both time and place barriers and increase intimacy in the learning environment.
ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE EDUCATION
In addition to providing educational opportunities independently of time and space considerations, online instruction offers several advantages in training for increased productivity in a technology-based society. When studying in an online environment, students will:
* increase their familiarity with computers and telecommunications
* be responsible for allotting and scheduling class attendance, increasing their skills in time management
* practice text-based communication and improve literacy
* participate actively in group discussions
* gain experience in "talking" to diverse groups and responding to individuals with different points of view
Costs to students for most online programs are comparable to charges for traditional campus-based education. A student who would otherwise have to travel a great distance to a campus-based program might actually save money in the online environment.