Perish the thought for in-person college professors and administrators. But for the rest of us, the appeal of receiving an online education is becoming more and more—well, appealing. In the 21st century, it only makes more sense to turn online.
“Why? Consider the advantages of an online degree: convenience, cost, flexibility—the list goes on and on, especially when pursuing a master’s degree in education online. Sure, it doesn’t exactly replace a brick-and-mortar institution, but if education is supposed to evolve, it’s doing just that. Unfortunately, many colleges and universities seem hopelessly stuck in an outdated lecture-first model of education. This model not only fails to teach students effectively, but it also bankrupts them in a culture where college (and its expensive student loans) is considered a necessity.
So, is the future of education in online degree schools? If you ask us, it is. But let’s explore the fundamental question of why. In fact, let’s break it down with five reasons in favor of online education.
Why Online Education Is the Future
1: Convenience
Education should be challenging, but even college professors would agree that convenience can be optimized. Just as a brick-and-mortar institution aims to provide the best possible logistical situation for its parking, students across the United States should be looking for education that is both challenging and convenient. Online education trumps traditional education in convenience several hundred times over; in fact, there’s no real way to measure the advantage.
Being able to learn from home provides an incentive for people who otherwise have no time for education to pursue a degree. Single mothers, for example, who want to improve their lives should have access to this type of degree because it opens up a better range of career options, whether it’s an online business degree, medical, or even technology.
Increasing the convenience of education also increases its accessibility. Anyone who’s in favor of education should be in favor of that.
2: Flexibility
With better convenience comes flexibility, and this is exactly what people need in tough economic times. Flexibility includes not only a flexible schedule, but also a flexible education. If an education isn’t customized to the student who’s receiving it, what exactly does that student stand to benefit?
The flexibility offered by online degrees—flexibility of location, time, and just about everything—is exactly what modern education needs. Making education more flexible means it becomes more accessible, allowing more people to focus on their education without the need for brick-and-mortar buildings far away. This flexibility also allows people looking for an easy way to transition from their careers. For example, a nurse can now take an RN to BSN program online without the need to attend a physical school, easing the transition.
3: Cost
If college professors can agree on something, it’s that their department needs a bigger budget. Money plays a role in education, whether we’re comfortable with it or not. And low costs for education help more people succeed in a number of ways.
First, the low cost of running an online education center compared to a physical one means more people can establish these new centers. This increases the overall options for education nationwide and places greater emphasis on improving education as a whole.
Second, the low cost of attaining an online degree, as opposed to the traditional method (hello, student loans!), makes education more available. Who wouldn’t want more accessible education for the general populace? That’s exactly what education needs today, especially in an economic climate where many are forgoing education before even considering it. This is not the future education should have in the 21st century—or any century, for that matter.
4: Experimentation
No, we’re not talking about the kind of experimentation that happens behind closed doors in a college dorm. Rather, educational experimentation helps to expand our understanding of how to educate students effectively. Online learning centers and online degrees are just the beginning of the possibilities for integrating the internet into national education systems. If experimentation stops, so does the progress of education. Even the most traditional college professors must admit that would be a setback for educators everywhere.
If education has real value, then it’s worth improving—even at the expense of the lavish incomes of traditional college professors. Lower costs might mean lower salaries, but there’s always money to be made when you perform a job well. The experimental nature of online degrees fosters competition to perform better, and in the end, everyone—especially students—wins.
5: Hope
Let’s face it—college education is essentially broken. Not only have massive student loans watered down the value of a college degree, but the cost and time required to attain one make it hardly worth the investment. Bringing costs down and improving students’ lives should be the primary goals of education today, even if it challenges the sense of entitlement held by tenured professors. Online degrees offer a glimmer of hope that education can improve—becoming more cost-effective and, therefore, more effective overall.
Acquiring an online degree should not necessarily be easy. Easy education is hardly education at all. But just because something happens online doesn’t mean it’s not challenging. Technology should empower us as a nation and as a species. It should be spread freely to help the greatest number of people prosper. How can we prosper without widespread—and affordable—college education?
That’s not an easy question to answer, given how hard it is to find affordable college education these days. But if people are going to improve the state of education over the next century, it will require changes and adaptations—some of which won’t be comfortable for everyone. Ultimately, the hope is that college education will see a revolution in effectiveness, cost reduction, and overall quality. If that’s not a promising vision for the future, what else could be?
