Thursday, May 29, 2008

Online Education Is Successful By Earning Entire Degrees Online - A Study

A study reveals that online education has proved more flourishing and successful if all online programs offering institutions offer entire degrees online than those that offer only a scattering of courses.

The report was based on finding out what made an online education program successful and to share the information with other institutions. The organization surveyed officials at different (21) colleges and universities that it determined to be successful in online education. Giving their response, these college officials foregrounded the need for such general elements as high-quality courses and consistent technology.

At this instance the important point observed was that 89 percent of the institutions created online degree programs i.e. entire degrees instead of just individual online courses. Online degree programs lead to success, because they tend to highlight a college's overall mission and translate into more institutional support for the faculty members and students working online.

At this level it's easier to measure the progress at a programmatic level; the programmatic approach also gets institutions thinking about student-support services. Of course, success is subjective, and what may be deemed successful for one institution may not work at another.

It was further discovered that some college officials believe online education has not lived up to their expectations. It is assumed that some colleges will learn from institutions that have succeeded online.

One of the institutions included in the report is the University of Florida, which enrolls more than 6,000 students in its online degree programs. It was reported that Florida decided to move forward with a strong online-education program because so many students were demanding it.

We see an interesting edge which Florida enjoys and that's Florida doesn't have enough seats for the students who want to be here, but still a lot of people are coming to get a University of Florida degree.

Florida University does not put a cap on enrollments in online courses. Full-time Florida professors teach the content, and part-time faculty members around the country field some of the questions from students.

Florida University has learned how to scale, and that what they do through an addition of faculty.

Another college the organization deemed successful in online education is Westwood College, a for-profit institution that has campuses all over the country, in addition to its online degree programs. The university knows that some institutions may have trouble making the transition to online education because higher education tends to be slow to change.

How will this concept be introduced to an industry that is very mush steeped in tradition is a major question? The answer may follow as one really has to relearn how these instructions are delivered.

In this context the truth is undeniable that nonprofit institutions could learn a lot from for-profit ones when it comes to teaching over the Internet.

The for-profit education industry is a much more nimble industry and is much more able to change based on market demand and student need. And that is because the technology in these institutions is updated very quickly.

There is still such a strong demand for online education that many more institutions can find success with online programs. But the fact is obvious that success does not always come quickly, and sometimes it takes several years to see positive results.

These institutions have really achieved a lot, and generally speaking when they started they really weren't sure what was going to happen. Whatever the changes may be but the online education mode is making it sound a lot easier than it actually is.

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