| If you've made the choice to go back to school and | | | | For instance, your local business school may not offer |
| get your degree: Congratulations! You're embarking | | | | an MBA in Non-Profit Management, but there are |
| on an experience that will be challenging, enjoyable | | | | several excellent programs available online. Similarly, if |
| and ultimately, rewarding. Whether you're going to be | | | | you want to get a bachelor's degree in, for instance, |
| studying for a bachelor's or a master's degree, your | | | | Medieval Church History, that choice may only be |
| educational accomplishments will make you more | | | | available to you online. |
| valuable to potential employers. | | | | - You can study at almost any college, wherever it |
| Just one decision awaits you now; should you earn | | | | might be. |
| an online degree, or should you study at a local | | | | Perhaps you live in a rural area far from even a local |
| college in a traditional classroom setting? Many of | | | | community college, never mind a first-rank school. Or |
| your contemporaries are choosing to get an online | | | | maybe your work requires you to travel often, |
| degree, and there are several factors that make | | | | making it difficult for you to pick up your |
| distance learning attractive. | | | | dry-cleaning, let alone get to class on time each |
| - Your schedule will be less rigid, allowing you to | | | | week. |
| balance school, work, and family more easily. | | | | Online education opens up the whole of academia to |
| The benefit of a flexible schedule, with on-demand | | | | you. Schools across the United States from Stanford |
| access to lectures and discussion groups, is the | | | | to Harvard, from Northwestern to Tulane, offer at |
| number one deciding factor for most online students. | | | | least some of their classes online and in most cases |
| This approach to course delivery, which colleges and | | | | it's possible to earn your college degree entirely online. |
| universities often refer to as "asynchronous learning", | | | | Or you can even study overseas, without leaving |
| lets students stream or download lectures when it's | | | | your home. There are online programs available in |
| most convenient for them. | | | | England, China, Russia, Australia, and dozens of other |
| Whether you prefer to get up early and use the | | | | countries. |
| peaceful moments before your family wakes; or you | | | | One note of caution, however. Whether you register |
| like to study late into the night; or even if you want | | | | at an American school or elsewhere, you should |
| to catch a lecture on your lunch-break; the choice is | | | | restrict yourself solely to schools that are accredited. |
| yours. So long as you have a laptop and an Internet | | | | If not you may find that all your hard work holds no |
| connection, the whole world is your classroom. | | | | value either to employers, or to graduate schools if |
| - A wide range of courses and programs is open to | | | | you wish to continue your studies. |
| you. | | | | While there are some pitfalls attached to studying |
| Even if you're fortunate enough to live near a | | | | online, including the necessity to be very |
| university, they may not offer the program you | | | | self-disciplined, on the whole distance learning offers |
| want to study. This is particularly true for students | | | | huge advantages to adults returning to school. |
| who want to focus on a specialist area. | | | | |