by Bert Rider

Created on: April 16, 2010

Distance learning has been increasingly popular each and every year.  With millions of Americans taking online courses and getting their degrees online, it begs the question: why is distance learning so popular? 

There are many reasons why distance learning is popular.  First and foremost is that it fits easily into our schedules.  With families, careers, volunteer work and other obligations, taking time out to further our education can be overwhelming.  Taking traditional classes at a college or university could be impossible.  This requires scheduling around an already busy lifestyle and for most, this cannot be done.  However, online courses can be taken at any time – day or night.  By simply logging into courses via the internet, students can access all of the information they need whenever it is most convenient for them.  This could be after dinner, late at night once the kids have gone to bed or in the airport while traveling.  Having classes fit your schedule is much easier than trying to fit into a class schedule.

A second reason why distance learning has become so popular is overall lower cost.  Since students are not driving to class, there is no extra charge for gas and wear-and-tear on a vehicle.  There is also no added cost for parking passes or lunches or dinners out.  And, because many universities can offer online courses at a lower cost, they general cost less for the students.  Some schools do not even utilize books for their curriculum, but provide this curriculum electronically.  And, because these courses are not tied to a geographical location, there is no in-state versus out-of-state tuition.  Many businesses and corporations offer tuition assistance for those pursuing degrees and with the lowered costs of online courses, this money goes much further.

With many more choices for schools, degrees and concentrations distance learning is attracting more students than ever before.  Anyone can search for specialized degrees such as oceanography and forensic science and general degrees such as education and liberal arts and find dozens of schools that offer online courses.  And, with more choices, there is more appeal for distance learning.  Students can pick and choose what they want to take and where – not just from a few schools in their local area, but from schools from around the globe!  The choices are endless and because of

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