“Online courses wave of future for technical schools (The Daily Iberian)” plus 2 more

Kirkwood Community College and Upper Iowa University are having success offering online classes. The state's Board of Regents is looking to increase the number of online classes offered at the three universities. Photographed Friday, March 5, 2010, in southeast Cedar Rapids. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

More than one in four college students takes at least one class online, says a recent national report.

Online education is a booming market nationally and for many Iowa colleges and universities, and officials expect that growth — and the competition — to increase as students seek more flexibility in earning degrees.

"Online programs are the fastest-growing segment of our university," Upper Iowa University President Alan Walker said. "It remains robust."

People want to retrain, finish a degree or earn advanced degrees to become more competitive in a tough job market, Walker said. Often, those people have mortgages, families and jobs, so they can't uproot their lives to attend college far away.

"We're still serving a lot of the same people who would have been walking through our doors, but we're serving them in an online format," said Todd Prusha, dean of distance learning and secondary programs at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. "There's a push for it. We're an on-demand society."

Kirkwood's online classes often fill quickly and form waiting lists. Enrollment in the college's Anytime Anywhere program jumped 24 percent this spring, with 183 sections of 99 courses and total enrollment of 5,525. Kirkwood offers five degrees that can be completed entirely online.

"A lot of times I do the work early in the morning before my children get up, or I can do it at night," said Kari Voss, 36, a stay-at-home mom of three from Atkins and on online Kirkwood student. "I don't have to be in a classroom at a certain time on a specific day."

At Upper Iowa in Fayette, online enrollment grows 25 percent to 30 percent yearly, Walker said. Upper Iowa was a pioneer of online education in Iowa, launching its program in 1998. The university's online enrollment is 1,618, up from 570 in 2004.

"The flexibility was awesome," West Des Moines resident Maury Malone, 32, said of his Upper Iowa online classes. "Even if you're traveling, as long as your hotel has computer access, your school work still gets done."

The convenience is great, but Urbandale resident Billi Hughes said she did miss the traditional classroom experience. Hughes, 33, took Upper Iowa courses online while working from home as a graphic designer and Web designer to be with her 1-year-old daughter, and she said online education is a great opportunity.

"What I feel you miss out on, though, is I think you're forced to learn more when you're sitting in the class," she said.

Nationally, online enrollment continues to grow at rates far exceeding total higher education growth, according to a recent report by the Sloan Consortium. More than 4.6 million students took at least one online course in fall 2008, a 17 percent increase over the previous year. Comparatively, the overall higher education population grew 1.2 percent in that period.

Some colleges and universities want to take advantage of that online trend. Coe College in Cedar Rapids and Cornell College in Mount Vernon don't offer online courses, but Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids piloted two classes last summer and will do so again this year, with an eye on exploring more online options for 2010-11, officials said.

Iowa's regent universities also must capitalize on the trend and boost their own online enrollments, state Board of Regents President David Miles said. He doesn't envision the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa offering a significant number of degrees entirely online, but he sees online becoming part of all classes — in a hybrid delivery model.

Online delivery also could mean some cost savings, but educational quality can't be sacrificed for that, Miles said.

"I think it's soon going to be ubiquitous," he said. "Regardless of how a student interacts with us, some element of their educational experience is going to be online as well as in the classroom."

Universities and colleges face growing competition from for-profit models, which educate about 7 percent of the nation's 19 million students who enroll each fall, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education report last month.

For example, the University of Phoenix become the second-largest higher education system in the country this year, with 455,600 students as of February — larger than the entire undergraduate enrollment of the Big Ten Conference, the Chronicle reported. The University of Phoenix had 25,100 students in 1995.

"They present a challenge, and we need to respond," Miles said.

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Bryant & Stratton College Online Announces the Salute to Spouses Scholarship Program for Military Spouses Affected by ... (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)

Posted: 08 Mar 2010 11:52 AM PST

BUFFALO, N.Y., March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Bryant & Stratton College, a pioneer in career education since 1854 and the premier provider of online associate's degrees, announced today the launch of the Salute to Spouses scholarship program for military spouses. The first 100 qualified applicants will receive a Salute to Spouses scholarship, which will provide up to $6,000 to attend Bryant & Stratton College Online.

In February, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) suspended the popular Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts program (MyCAA), which offered military spouses up to $6,000 for college or career training. MyCAA was suspended after the program received an unexpected and overwhelming number of enrollments. While DoD has announced that it will honor the financial assistance approved for MyCAA participants already enrolled, no additional benefits will be approved or paid until a review of the program has been completed.

"The abrupt suspension of the MyCAA program is creating a tremendous void for military spouses and we want to do what we can to help those who have given so much in support of our military," said Scott Traylor, Bryant & Stratton's Director of Admissions for Online Education. "Career education is especially important for military spouses, since the most portable, high-growth careers often require more than a high-school diploma. Life in the military means frequent relocation, making it difficult for spouses without advanced education to find work or build a career."

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 60 percent of the top-twenty fastest growing occupations require at least an associate's degree. High-growth, high-demand occupations, such as those in healthcare, are ideal for military spouses who need skills that will translate regardless of their location. The Salute to Spouses scholarship program is an opportunity for military spouses affected by the suspension of the MyCAA program to continue their education while the Department of Defense completes its review. If the MyCAA program is reinstated, the combination of the Salute to Spouses scholarship and MyCAA cannot exceed the cost of tuition.

The Salute to Spouses scholarship program for military spouses will award 100 scholarships up to $600 (for part-time students) or $1,200 (for full-time students) per semester for programs offered by Bryant & Stratton College Online, with a maximum $6,000 scholarship award per recipient. To qualify, applicants must:

Be a military spouse with military ID card;
Have graduated high school prior to the current academic year;
Submit a written essay;
Follow all scholarship policies as outlined in the Bryant & Stratton College catalog, such as maintaining a 3.0 GPA with no breaks in enrollment.

More information about the Salute to Spouses scholarship program for military spouses offered by Bryant & Stratton College Online can be found at www.SalutetoSpouses.com.

Bryant & Stratton College Online is regionally accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and offers three online bachelor's degree programs, ten online associate's degree programs and nine online certificate programs in a variety of fields including business, criminal justice, financial services, healthcare, human resources and information technology. Information about the programs offered by Bryant & Stratton College Online is available at http://online.bryantstratton.edu.

About Bryant & Stratton College Online

Bryant & Stratton College is one of the nation's pioneers in career education and is the premier provider of online associate's degrees. Bryant & Stratton offers accredited education that upgrades student capabilities and maximizes their marketability. For over 150 years, Bryant & Stratton College has helped students gain the career skills they need to succeed in the workplace. Currently, Bryant & Stratton College Online offers three online bachelor's degree programs, ten online associate's degree programs and nine online certificate programs in a variety of fields including business, criminal justice, financial services, healthcare, human resources and information technology. Bryant & Stratton College Online is regionally accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Bryant & Stratton College also offers flexible scheduling at its 16 campuses located in four states: New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. For more information about Bryant & Stratton College and its online degrees, visit http://online.bryantstratton.edu.

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Online Education

Monday, March 8, 2010

“Online courses wave of future for technical schools (The Daily Iberian)” plus 2 more

“Online courses wave of future for technical schools (The Daily Iberian)” plus 2 more

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