There have been many horror stories about online education over the past few years, many a result of students making poor financial decisions, and many others the result of diploma-mill schools dominating the online education headlines. However, with the influx of federal funding that has gone to online universities, they have become a new resource for college students who do not have the time or money to invest in traditional universities but need a degree to increase their job standing. The news has chosen to focus on the worst stories they can find from previous online university students who may not have had the discipline to go back to school, rather than finding any success stories.
Online universities exist on a for-profit basis, meaning that these universities do not have endowments like other traditional universities, but receive the vast majority of their funding from federal loans and grants. This presents an interesting predicament for students and critics of the program: many are convinced that online universities are simply taking the money from federal sources without promising an actual future, operating much like a telemarketing service. While this is true for some online universities, many online schools do not operate in this way and actually operate out of traditional colleges. Listening to this type of criticism of online universities is enough to drive any motivated student away, but there are many success stories as there are horror stories. Not every school is more interested in federal funds than the future of their students, and previous students can attest to that.
Online education is quickly becoming the newest mode of education, with students of every grade level and post-secondary level earning degrees and diplomas via the internet. Online universities offer students the unique opportunity to take class from any point in the globe, as long as there is an internet connection. This is a perfect tool for frequent travelers or students who have to work odd hours and are only home a few hours a day. As the online education industry has picked up steam, it has picked up thousands of followers who have improved their career choices by enrolling in online universities and achieving a new degree. Not every story has to be negative (as much as the critics would like us to think), and not every student is set up to fail outside of a traditional university.