More college students are trading in traditional education for distance learning – taking online courses provided by a college or university. The 2015 Survey of Online Learning conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group found that in the fall of 2014, 5.8 million college students took at least one distance education course. That is 3.9% more than the previous year. The number of students taking distance education courses will continue to rise – and for good reason.
There are significant benefits of distance learning. The flexibility of a distance education course allows students to study and learn wherever, and whenever they please. Additionally, they can learn at their own pace, pausing at tough concepts and speeding through content. Another benefit to students is the affordability of distance education courses. The larger class sizes of distance education courses bring down costs, and with the ability to learn from anywhere, there are little transportation costs associated with online courses.
There are also benefits that students might not even realize. Distance education courses encourage self-motivation because students are responsible for staying current and confirming that they understand. It also promotes excellent time-management skills because students have to coordinate their own schedules while keeping up.
With all the benefits of distance education courses, it is no surprise that the enrollment rate for these types of courses continues to grow each year.
