Online University
In May 2008, forty-two working mothers will have the doors of higher learning opened to them. Elearners.com is granting at least $2 million dollars in scholarships to pay for tuition of working mothers. Through full scholarships to an online university, Elearners.com’s Project Working Mom hopes to even the playing field by overcoming the obstacles such as time and money that often bar working mothers from earning college degrees.
The Project Working Mom program illustrates the lure of the online university. Online universities are opening up college degrees to people unable sacrifice full-time jobs and family responsibilities to attend traditional classes. As Eleaners.com points out, 1.4 million women in the nation are single mothers and only 16 percent of them hold college degrees. Though a single mother may not be able to secure additional daycare in order to attend college classes after work, she may make time for course work while at home with her child. An online university gives single parents, busy professionals, and students juggling multiple jobs a flexible college option.
American Intercontinental University, DeVry University, Walden University and other online universities like these are able to meet the needs of a variety of students – leaving many traditional colleges grappling to catch up by offering online courses and in some cases online branches of some programs. These online options enable even those with the most challenging schedules to better their career by earning a higher degree.
From a Bachelor of Science in Nursing to a Master of Business Administration to a PhD in Engineering, online universities offer a broad array of academic programs. Many online universities carry the same depth of course work and same quality education as their brick-and-mortar counterparts. An online university is also capable of earning the same standard of accreditation as traditional colleges, and worthwhile programs are often regionally accredited by federally recognized accreditation associations. A degree from a worthwhile online college with a strong program should be just as valuable as those earned on site.
An online university extends higher education to qualified participants regardless of location and schedule constraints. Through advancing technology and virtual campuses these online universities provide quality and interactive educational experiences. Students communicate with one another through instant messenger and bulletin boards. Classes are held live in chat rooms. Much of the technology only now being integrated into traditional college classes are the foundation for the virtual community of online universities. As a result, some students find the online university to be the perfect preparation for a technology-centered job market.