Reasons Why Online Education Is The Future
Online education is rapidly increasing in popularity. While some of the public’s increased interest can be attributed to the 2020 pandemic and the subsequent need for education to shift to a remote platform, online education has always shown the potential to flourish.
According to the National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES), in 2018, about 79% of colleges in the US offered online courses and degree programs. This number only skyrocketed in 2020 and continues to see a sustainable trend in 2022, with more than 3 million enrolled in fully online higher education degree programs.
Are you considering jumping on the bandwagon but still hesitant to do so? Let’s look at six reasons online education is the future and why you must consider pursuing an online degree.
1. The tuition is much more affordable
Let’s be honest; the tuition costs in America are downright brutal. For a shot at the best colleges in the country, you either need to come from good money or be prepared to grind yourself in the rat race to obtain a scholarship. Those unable to do both eventually have to rely upon student loans. Student loans are notorious for sticking long into your professional careers and adding excessive stress to your work, relationships, and mental health.
Online education, however, uses fewer on-campus resources and thus asks for less in return from students. It makes sense why all the top colleges are switching to e-learning to cater to people from all financial backgrounds and make quality education more accessible.
The University of Illinois, for example, offers 75+ programs online, and these UIS online programs are not only more affordable than average but also well-reputed around the world. This means you can evade hefty student loans and pricy fees to focus completely on your academics.
The fact that college tuition fees are on the rise does nothing to alleviate the situation. With the government cutting down education funding due to global inflation, colleges trying to draw in more “elite” crowds, and looking competitive on the market, it is becoming very difficult to afford higher education in the traditional classroom setup. In stark contrast, 86% of online graduates found their degrees more cost-effective.
2. Say goodbye to commuting and accommodation charges
If your desired college is far from home, the commuting and hostel charges can be another painful blow to your savings. If you want to spend wisely on your education and save your bank account from the expensive travesty, opting for distance learning is the best decision you can make.
With online education, you can avail quality education from the comforts of your home and don’t have to expend resources such as time, money, and energy on traveling to and from your college. In this way, you can also give more time to your responsibilities at home or take a much-needed breather from academic activities and spend that saved time on improving your mental health.
3. Have the flexibility to work part-time
Grades and work experience go hand in hand when it comes to landing a good job and quickly climbing the career ladder. Employers value work experience just as much as an impressive degree or a prestigious college.
For many students who want to save time and be able to apply to these jobs as soon as they graduate, working part-time seems like a good decision. Unfortunately, the traditional classroom setup makes balancing studies and work life nearly impossible. When timetables clash and on-campus activities leave you too drained to perform at your part-time job, online education comes to the rescue.
According to UCAS,two-thirds of employers prefer candidates with relevant work experience as they feel a lower need to polish these individuals for the job. With convenient schedules and the flexibility to choose one that fits your part-time work, online education is more favorable.
4. Give time to relationships and interests outside the education environment
Most relationships get strained due to the mental and physical stress that college life entails. As students get occupied by never-ending assignments, tests, and keeping up appearances at college, their friends and family outside their academic life may get neglected.
Caregiving students and those who are parents find themselves in an even messier situation. With responsibilities at home always distracting them during class, they are more likely to suffer from compassion fatigue and poor academic performance.
Online education here comes to them as a big relief. Now they can manage their time well, balancing their home duties and education. Many colleges offer recorded lectures and a faculty more eager to lend a sympathetic ear to personal issues, owing to a lower teacher-to-student ratio in online education.
5. Corporate values digital skills
As they say, the future is digital. With greater emphasis on teaching employees computer skills and increasing remote job opportunities, a candidate already well-versed with online platforms is more prepared to adjust to this future.
The corporate sector also values people who can work effectively in the office and remotely, as unprecedented events such as the pandemic proved to the world how an ill-prepared remote force cannot keep a company afloat. Thus, there is a need to develop a strong workforce that can showcase their skills on an online platform, and there is no better opportunity to learn this than through e-learning.
This also helps bring down training costs in companies. With e-learning, they can support a larger workforce with fewer resources spent on their training and boarding processes.
6. Interact with people from diverse backgrounds
Networking is one of the most important aspects of life. It is beneficial to your work and helps build new friendships and relationships.
In online courses, you will encounter people from all financial and social backgrounds because many cannot easily access or afford classroom education. This helps shape a very diverse and inclusive perspective of the people around you and makes you develop some great relationships with people you won’t otherwise come across in a traditional classroom.
With online courses available to international students, you are bound to come across various cultures and races, offering a more worldwide and extensive learning experience that extends beyond your degree courses. Such social skills and empathetic mindsets are also highly valued at companies, where you might be asked to work as a team or lead people belonging to different backgrounds.
Conclusion
With these six reasons, we hope the article was able to convince you why online education has a bright future. From greater and more economic opportunities and part-time work experience to forging fruitful relationships, online education is definitely the modern mode of learning, an advanced version of the time-old and traditional classroom learning experience.
