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Online Education as a Stepping Stone for Career Change and/or Advancement
Q1: Who is the typical online student?
A1: Most online students are already taking face-to-face college courses. It was found that as many as 1 in 4 college students are taking at least one online course, a number that has probably increased today considering the substantial growth of online enrollments since 2008-2009, when that study was carried out. The seventh annual Sloan Survey of Online Learning demonstrated that of the 4.6 million students found to be learning online in the fall of 2008, a shocking 82% of these were studying at the undergraduate level. If you're an online graduate student, don't let this statistic make you feel outcasted. This number mirrors that of the distribution of all students in higher education, with undergraduates representing about 86%. (Learning on Demand)
Q2: What is the typical online student looking for when he or she enrolls?
A2: There is a high demand today for college-educated workers, so many people are flocking to get those degrees, which will eventually get them higher paying and/or more flexible jobs. However, most of these people have pre-established lives, such as full-time jobs or families, so the idea of sitting in a classroom all day is just not practical. Online learning offers flexibility from the comfort of one's home or favorite coffee shop. With an online education, you can attend a course anywhere, anytime and course material is accessible 24/7. Students enrolling in online courses are also looking to participate in class, but maybe not in the traditional sense. Online learning awards students anonymity, increasing their chances of participating actively and frequently. Most of us would be much more willing to state our opinion in a post on a wiki board than we would to speak out in a lecture hall in front of hundreds of other students.
Q3: What are the hottest online degrees today?
A3: The most popular online degrees today are business degrees, nursing programs, and criminal justice programs. (US News & World Report)
Q4: What new trends and innovations do you see in today's online education from the student, teaching, and technology perspectives?
A4: Schools knows that their students lead very different lifestyles, so are subsequently providing different options that fit these lifestyles. Many schools offer a blended or hybrid course, for which online and face-to-face delivery is mixed together and about 30 to 79% of the course material is delivered online. For these hybrid courses, you may meet your teacher once or twice, but most of the discussions take place on online forums. (Learning on Demand) Instructors also realize that in the adult world, it is incredibly difficult to align schedules for groupwork outside of the classroom. Online learning circumnavigates this problem by providing chatrooms and newsgroups, on which students can meet and produce groupwork.
Q5: What is the best way to position an online degree when job searching and interviewing against candidates with offline degrees?
A5: Most employers know that if you earned a degree online, you did the same amount of work (or in some cases, maybe even more) as anyone else who earned that same degree face-to-face. However, there may be some employers, for which you will be held at a disadvantage for obtaining an online degree. Thankfully, most employers are beginning to realize the value of an online degree because it takes an incredible amount of determination and discipline to receive one. To make sure that you avoid discrimination, make sure your online degree comes from an accredited college or institution. If it does, you should tote your online degree as proudly as you would any other degree.
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