Will Rising Fuel Costs Spur an Increase in Online Enrollment?

A lot of attention has been focused on how rising fuel costs will have a detrimental affect on the tourism and travel industries, telecommuting, and especially the agriculture industry. But an industry that may gain (Yes, I said GAIN) the most could be online education, or distance learning; especially in those areas where a large percentage of the student population consists of adult learners who must commute to local campuses.

Think about what it costs you to drive:

Let's assume that your automobile gets 20 miles per gallon and gas is prices at $4.00 per gallon.

If you commute 20 miles per day (10 miles to and from school), for a 12 week semester, at 5 days per week for attending classes it will cost you an extra $240 per semester for fuel. That does not take into account wear and tear on your vehicle or insurance and parking fees.

Compare that to what you would pay if you were attending an online program:

Fuel is still $4.00 per gallon.

Your car still gets 20 miles per gallon of gas.

You still attend classes 5 days a week for each 12 week semester.

You still live 10 miles away from the campus.

So, your total fuel bill would be...let's see if the mathematicians among us can get this....

Well, it would be $0.00, because you did not drive to your classes.

I know that was a really simple math problem, but have you thought of the implications of what it really means?

If you attend a minimum of two semesters per year you would save at least $480.00 per year by 'attending' classes online. This also does not take into account the affect that you would have on the environment by not releasing pollution into the atmosphere through driving your automobile.

Now, someone might say that I have not included the cost for having access to an internet connection; and that is a valid argument. Except that, if you are reading this, chances are that you must already have access, somehow, to the internet (whether at home or work) and thus that cost is already being taken into account (by somebody). Either you are paying for at or your employer is.

How can you take advantage of this opportunity?

Check with the university or college that you are attending. Many of the classes that you may be taking, or need to take in the future, might already be offered online. If they are not currently, maybe there is a process for petitioning the administration to consider allowing your courses to be delivered in an online format. An extreme option, though in all likelihood, one which will be used more often than not, is to transfer to a college or university that does offer you the ability to take your courses, and achieve your goals, online.

Even if you cannot 'attend' your classes online every day; for every day that you do not have to drive to attend your courses you will save a minimum of $4.00 at the rates mentioned above.

Introduction to Online Learning

It used to be that education by way of online learning—or what is called distance learning or distance education--was implemented as a supplement to the brick-and-mortar classroom (or conference room) teaching and learning methods and materials. But technology as it is—progressive and multi-beneficial--online high school and online college courses have become sometimes viable sources of learning…without the student having to ever step foot in a classroom.

Contemporary learners taking online college courses can benefit in a number of ways that they otherwise could not, having no way to get to school, for example, or having no desire to attend an institution of higher learning. They might have children, a home, and one or more jobs that keep them from physically enrolling in or attending classes at a campus that might be too far away.

These individuals can make use of online college courses that feature lectures, video, audio, email, IMs, instant messages, bulletin boards and chat rooms, and online study and research sources that all comprise the online college courses—rather than serve as supplements to them.

For the home-schooled, the advanced placement high school student, for instance, who is now into levels that reach online college courses levels, the benefits of choice, segregation, or integration are available to those who prefer a particular curriculum that is religiously oriented or carefully monitored.

And for anyone, online college courses are equal opportunity—anyone of any race, creed, color, religion, location, learning ability or disability, or mindset can find the materials, sources, and lessons he or she needs or wants…many times accredited and transferable.

In the same respect, before applying, signing up, and paying, the learner who seeks legitimate online college courses should do a little background checking…to protect him- or herself from the beguiling and conniving that does sometimes happen. Some offering online college courses and other online courses are not qualified to do so. Some are not “accredited”. That is, if you are looking to use the online learning experience as credited coursework (to transfer, to get a job, to get a degree), be sure that the online college is one which meets the standards set by the state’s, province’s, or country’s accreditation body, agency, or board. In the U.S., for instance, the Department of Education (the DOE) oversees and regulates American universities, though each state is responsible for its own higher learning authorization standards.

This can be an arduous task by itself: unscrupulous and greedy money mongers can be “licensed” to run a business (in this case, the business of running a degree mill, a fake college)--because every state has different ways of regulating standards, and because con artists and scammers claiming to be legitimate e-universities will link their pages to the real sites of DOE or of the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), so when you are looking for an online degree you might be tricked.

You might read the website’s claim of being accredited—or will infer from the official links or the way the text is worded, in lies, or implications, that the institution is accredited when it is not—will pay unreasonably high fees, will sign the necessary and official-looking documents, but then will be required to do very little “work” and will “graduate” online…with a bogus degree.

So if you are looking into online college courses, the best way to go is through a legitimate college. And even then, if you are unsure, look for the distance learning college accreditation info. Or ask directly about it. When the said distance learning institution names an accreditation agency—whether it is DOE or CHEA in the U.S., The British Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in England, a named Private Colleges Accreditation Board in Canada, or any other Authoritative body—contact that named agency and check to see that the college is in fact accredited…NOT just licensed to do business.