Is online education high quality?
Is distance learning an effective way to learn?
We believe that the answer is yes!
You are able to learn and progress through a curriculum using electronic media just as effectively as in a traditional classroom setting. Distance learning is no different from any other kind of learning in regards to quality.
A lot has changed since the 1990s.
In the early days of online education, it was questioned whether eLearning had the potential to be just as rigorous and effective. Today, more than 61 percent of all colleges and universities offer some form of distance education in their programs.
A great deal of research has been done in the past decade to illustrate that when it comes to quality, distance learning can stand with the best of them.
Statistics illustrate the effectiveness and increasing popularity of distance learning.
For example, consider these quotes from the report titled Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning by The Sloan Consortium published in October 2007:
- "A large majority (69 percent) of academic leaders believe that student demand for online learning is still growing."
- "A question often asked of online educators is whether online degrees are as good as those granted by face-to-face programs. Overall, only about one-in-five institutions disagrees with the statement that 'online degrees have the same level of respect as face-to-face degrees.'"
- "Academic leaders do not believe that there is a lack of acceptance of online degrees by potential employers."
There has also been groundbreaking research done by the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications that strongly suggests that there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of learning through online courses and traditional, classroom-based learning.
Top tier universities meet student demand by developing online programs.
Perhaps the most important qualitative indicator that distance learning can be sufficiently rigorous has been the willingness of well-known traditional institutions to make use of it.
When schools such as Harvard University, Duke University, and Pennsylvania State University are offering online learning programs, it's reasonable to conclude that eLearning is a mature, accepted means of obtaining a quality education.
As a final note, while some suspicious online programs do exist, you can rest assured that all schools listed with eLearners.com are high quality — we only list schools that are accredited by agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation!
Did You Know? Since 1999, eLearners.com has helped over 1.1 million adults from all walks of life find an online program to help further their careers without sacrificing time away from family.
