The rate of enrollment in distance learning courses surpasses the growth in enrollment in face-to-face classes nationally, and two-year associate-degree institutions (community colleges) not only had the highest annual growth rate at 24 percent but also accounted for half of the online enrollments for the past five years.
Four-year universities, on the other hand, had the lowest online enrollments and the smallest annual growth rate, at 6.9 percent.
That’s the news from a recent study on distance learning conducted by the Sloan Consortium. Read more here.
But it isn’t surprising–community colleges were the pioneers in distance learning because their priority is finding low-cost ways to deliver education to students who may be working, raising a family, or living far from campus. Four-year universities offer some online options, but their focus is on creating a campus experience (for which they can charge much higher prices) in which to deliver education.
Savvy students recognize that combining both can be a powerful way to get a great education. Most early undergrad classes can be taught easily online, and learning on your own is often a more intense and personal educational experience (at least, in basic courses) than sitting in a huge lecture hall.
But there’s a trick to making this work. You’ve got to know which courses are smart to take online and which ones are going to be more valuable if you’re in an actual classroom. There’s a sweet spot, and if you go beyond it, you’ll be wasting time and money and end up retaking courses once you transfer.
The sweetest spot of all is figuring out how to get credit for online courses–strategically selected, of course–that transfer seamlessly to four-year institutions. You can get study-abroad semesters and independent learning experiences counted at the four-year schools, too, without spending four-year school prices.
If you want to save thousands of dollars, one way to do that is to get innovative about taking online courses and to get smart about WHICH ones you choose.
More on that in my book, The World Is Your Campus. By getting creative, you can get an outrageously relevant global college education that doesn’t cost a fortune!
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