When Debbie Boyd graduated from high school in 1967, she probably couldn’t have envisioned that she’d be pursuing her Bachelor of Business Administration at an online college in 2004.
Boyd, who is pursuing her degree at CTU Online says, “When I decided to return to school, I made the decision to work part-time. I am now working as a mid-day dog walker. I would not have been able to afford this without the great financial package CTU provided.”
Prior to enrollment at CTU Online, Boyd had attended community college off and on and completed 85 percent of the coursework needed for an Associate’s degree. After completing four classes at CTU, she was awarded an Associate’s degree.
Boyd says she was drawn to online learning for the flexibility and accessibility it offers. She typically works on her classes for an hour each morning and evening, in addition to a couple of hours in the afternoon every other day.
Boyd is just one of the thousands of students who have taken the plunge and enrolled in an online learning program. Online learning has really come into its own in the past few years. You could describe it as a natural outgrowth of the huge impact the Internet has had on all aspects of society, including academia and learning in particular.
As you can imagine, some in academia are more enthusiastic about online learning than others, but everyone agrees that it’s here to stay. A number of brick-and-mortar universities have even integrated some form of online learning into their curriculum.
At its most basic level, online learning is learning that is delivered via the Internet to a person sitting at their home computer. The most sophisticated and state-of-the-art online programs utilize the technology at their disposal to provide a unique learning experience tailored to each individual student’s needs and preferences. Unlike the traditional learning model where students attend lectures given by a professor in a lecture hall, and study designated course material to reinforce the concepts introduced by the instructor, online learning is self-directed and places the power of learning with the student. Students determine how much time they need to spend on a particular concept or unit, as long as they keep pace with the readings and assignments assigned for that particular course.
For those students who might question whether a degree from an online university has the same relevance as a degree from a brick-and-mortar university, it may help to check the school’s accreditation. Colorado Technical University, for example, is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association. At CTU Online, in addition to receiving a diploma upon completion of their required coursework, students also earn CTU Academic Certificates as they progress through the program. This feature gives students additional real-world currency they can show to an employer or potential employer, and also helps students stay motivated as they progress through their program of study.
When students enroll in an online program they join a virtual learning community that is accessible from anywhere in the world at any time of the day or night. Online learning has been described as collaborative because proponents believe that the best learning takes place through an ongoing interaction between fellow students and professors.
In many online programs, students receive all their course texts and online materials by mail prior to the start of the session. For CTU students, class resources are arrayed on their desktop for easy access, including ongoing access to professors, classmates and grades. Students attend weekly online lectures or “chats” held at a designated time during which all students are encouraged to participate. Students are also encouraged to make regular contributions to the discussion board, which is similar to an Internet listserv in that students post comments about their course material at their convenience. Online learning presentations are interactive and employ the latest in streaming video and interactive technology. This material is replicated in a text version for those students who are more comfortable with textbooks. Students also have 24/7 access to a comprehensive Cyberlibrary.
Boyd, who says her goal is to run a business on the Internet one day wouldn’t have it any other way.
