If this is your first time reading this blog, then here’s the scoop: nontraditional education, particularly online learning, is here to stay. Why? Because nontraditional education is College for Working Adults: accessible classes and career-relevant curriculum designed to meet the needs of nontraditional students. One way working adults can get the college education they need is through online learning programs, which continue to grow and attract students. Here’s why:

• Convenience and flexibility. Students work from home, creating their own schedule and working at their own pace. Saving time (commuting to and from campus) and money (transportation costs). If there is a defining characteristic of our country, it is a need for things to be quick and easy and what could be quicker and easier than sitting in your own home and pressing the “On” button?
• Accessibility. Nontraditional students (adult learners who are raising families or holding full-time jobs) who may not otherwise have had the ability to pursue a college degree are able to due to the (aforementioned) convenience and flexibility that comes with online learning.
• Effective Teaching Medium. Studies have shown that online learning is a highly effective way to teach students, particularly when combined with face to face instruction.
• Government Attention. President Obama’s recent education proposal places great emphasis on investing time and money into improving the quality of community college programs and online degree programs with the hope of making some online courses free.

Peter McPherson, president of Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) says that “during the past decade, online learning has begun to weave into the fabric of higher education and has become the fastest growing segment. All indications are that this growth will continue.”

The recession has hit our country hard and in this crucial time we’ll have to find ways to adjust to the severe consequences of a tough economy. Nontraditional education methods will likely be researched and developed as we make efforts to not only recover from but improve upon the economy we outgrew.