Insure Your Employment During A Troubled Economy With An Online Degree!
Adults and young adults are reportedly setting out for career training at a time when unemployment rates are high, the economy is sluggish and record numbers of students are completing high school. What many are finding is that the flexibility of distance college is allowing them to get their college degrees online as they continue their life obligations.
Community colleges that offer associate degrees are experiencing growth and soaring enrollments online and on campus. Several are targeting programs to local business needs and worldwide 21st century demands, according to reports. If you need more information about online degree education, look on the internet.
Some 3.1 million young adults ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in community college in October 2007, a number that by 2008 climbed to 3.4 million, the Pew Research Center reported. In Rhode Island, the state’s community college is experiencing what it calls its second highest enrollment in its history, the Providence Journal reported. In Michigan, community college enrollment accounts for 44 percent of all U.S. college enrollments, according to a WWJ Radio Great Lakes IT Report.
Online enrollment at community colleges alone accounts for more than half of all online course enrollments in the past five years, according to a Sloan Consortium report cited in a February edition of Community College Review.
Community colleges cost less than four-year public and private colleges and they tend to see enrollment increases as the economy worsens, the Pew Research Center noted. But this new enrollment peak comes at a time when a record proportion of young adults have graduated high school or completed an equivalency test, when dropout rates are low and when unemployment is the highest it’s been in more than a quarter of a century, according to the research center. Additionally, displaced workers are setting out to change careers, and new government incentives, such as a Post-9/11 GI Bill, are encouraging people to return to school, according to the Great Lakes IT Report.
A Bureau of Labor Statistics report forecasts that occupations requiring some advanced education are to experience higher growth rates into 2018 than those that call for on-the-job training and that positions requiring associate degrees category are to see higher growth rates. The report listed medical and physical therapy assistants, home health and personal and home care aides, physical therapy aides, dental hygienists, veterinary technicians and dental among the fastest growth positions that require an associate degree or less, with median annual earnings that in 2008 ranged from $19,180 to $46,140. This is not surprising as baby boomers, a large percentage of the population, age.
Rhode Island’s community college is working to help prepare students for current and future job demands locally and statewide, the Providence Journal noted. In Kentucky, a business publication known as the Lane Report in May told of a growing college program that breaks down barriers to higher education by bringing classes to students, in some instances at their place of work. The program, which is considered accelerated, allows students to earn an associate degree in as few as 20 months, the Lane Report noted. There is an abundance of information about online degree programs on the web.
The time that a degree program takes to complete can affect the number of people who obtain those degrees, according to an expert cited in the May/June edition of Washington Monthly. The article cited a successful Tennessee community college system that includes technology centers. Through these centers, students enrolling in one-year certificate programs in high demand fields benefit also from job placement services -and graduation and placement records are strong, the article suggested.
The ability to earn distance learning degrees works for every student in every life situation. The flexibility of study is a main attractant, one that is appealing all the way through to those participating in masters degrees online as they continue to work at their busy careers.