More and more young people choose non-traditional education to start and advance in their careers while completing and furthering their formal education. “Typical distance learners are those who don’t have access to programs, employees who work during scheduled class hours, homebound individuals, self-motivated individuals who want to take courses for self-knowledge or advancement, or those who are unable or unwilling to attend class” (Charp, 2000, p. 10). Three key elements surround the online learner: technology, curriculum, and instructor (Bedore, Bedore, & Bedore, 1997). These elements must be keenly integrated into one smoothly and operationally functional delivery tool.
While an online education method can be a highly effective alternative medium of education for the mature, self-disciplined student, it is an inappropriate learning environment for more dependent learners. Online asynchronous education gives students control over their learning experience and allows for flexible study schedules for nontraditional students; however, this places a greater responsibility on the student. To successfully participate in an online program, a student must be well organized, self-motivated, and possess a high degree of time management skills to keep up with the pace of the course. For these reasons, online education or e-learning is inappropriate for younger students (i.e., elementary or secondary school age) and dependent learners who have difficulty assuming the responsibilities required by the online paradigm.
Millions of students use e-learning solutions in over 140 countries: corporations such as Kodak and Toyota and education providers like ExecuTrain, New Horizons, the Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS), and Phoenix University amongst the hundreds of schools and colleges.
Studies have shown student retention to be up to 250% better with online learning than with classroom courses. Several recent ones have helped frame the debate. The Sloan Consortium published a widely distributed report titled “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States in 2005″ that examined the growing prevalence of online education across U.S. institutions.
A study conducted by the Boston-based consulting firm Eduventures found that while about half of institutions and more than 60 percent of employers generally accept the high quality of online learning, students’ perceptions differ. Only about 33 percent of prospective online students said that they perceive the quality of online education as “as good as or better than” face-to-face education. Ironically, 36 percent of prospective students surveyed cited concern about employers’ acceptance of online education as a reason for their reluctance to enroll in online courses.
But what drives quality? A March 2006 report released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education identifies six quality indicators: mission, curriculum and instruction, faculty support, student and academic services, planning for sustainability and growth, and evaluation assessment.
The debate rages on while the Pros and Cons of Online Adult Education for today’s international students are constantly analyzed to determine if this type of education platform can deliver predictable and measurable results.
The Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS) is one institution that uses this type of delivery system. ENOCIS enhances its learning experience by offering many other “value-added,” cost-reducing benefits to students. Online pupils can apply for scholarships available to students of excellence and other financial aid programs like the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), with attractive interest rates. They also provide convenient payment facilities, online banking, Western Union Quick Collect, and bank cards, and a student granted a loan can start repaying it after two months if they have a corporate guarantor.
Pros of Online Education:
The key advantages of the online education experience are briefly explained below:
1. Cheaper: Online courses may be more affordable than those offered at colleges or trade schools. You may also save on transportation costs like gas, bus passes, and parking permits because you don’t need to commute to school, and there are no housing or meal plans to worry about since you do not need to live on or near a college campus. Housing expenses and other costs associated with living expenses are usually the most expensive aspects of college education, so by taking an online course, you could save quite a bit of money.
The best part of online education is the absence of travel and immigration problems. Some students may prefer not to pursue traditional on-campus education, which involves traveling to attend lectures. With online education, an applicant does not need to travel. Courses require accessing the internet to begin the learning process.
2. More Convenient: By taking courses online, such as the Master of Supply Chain and Logistics Management, you can decide when you study and for how long. You can also schedule your looking around your work or social schedule.
Since you’re not bound to a classroom, you may work wherever you can access a computer and the internet. You can set your own pace and decide exactly how fast you want to go over the material.
Take online courses when needed, not based on some college’s annual or semester schedule. You can learn when you need it (just in time). A system is as close as a computer with an Internet connection.
3. Flexibility: with no class times, you decide when to complete your assignments and readings. You set the pace. In some programs, you can even design your degree plan. Online students can carry out their private or official work and online education. As it provides the convenience of time flexibility, a student can log in and log out as per his desire, whereas traditional education does not offer such flexibility in learning.
The flexibility of online education allows student control over their studies. They can allot more time to the topics they feel comparatively hard and vice versa. The speed of learning depends solely upon the students. Also, there are many non-college online courses that students can take to improve additional skills or get more information about the topic. Such practices can be taken on websites like Udemy, BitDegree, etc. You can even take these courses for free by using online course coupons. ”
4. Technology: With the help of scientific technology, students can do their online education at any place. The only mandatory prerequisite is the availability of a computer along with an internet amenity. Side benefits include learning new technologies and technical skills
5. Availability: Distance learning opportunities have exploded over the past few years, with many accredited and reputable programs.
6. Accessibility: with an online course, you can work on the system anywhere you have computer access. Your geographic location does not constrain your learning options. The new virtual classrooms have created many learning opportunities for global learning and education centers. Online education is a new era of experience adapting to the needs of the world’s citizens.
7. Self-directed: you set your own pace and schedule, so you control the learning environment.
8. Time Spent in Classroom: now you can take a course on just about any subject without ever having to be in or travel to a classroom, so you have very little wasted time. Note, however, that some distance education programs still have an in-class component. Normally, to receive a fully accredited US university degree, an international student must spend one or two semesters on campus.
9. High-Quality Dialog: Within an online asynchronous discussion structure, the learner can carefully reflect on each comment from others before responding or moving on to the next item. This structure allows students time to articulate responses with much more depth and forethought than in a traditional face-to-face discussion where the participant must analyze the comment of another on the spot and formulate a response or otherwise lose the chance to contribute to the discussion.
