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In his recent article in the Washington Post “Online Courses Aim to Prevent Drop-Outs,” Jay Matthews discuses the deplorable rate of high school dropouts.On a national level “about 3 percent of students starting ninth grade drop out before graduation.”The statistics worsen when considering low-income neighborhoods where nearly 5 percent of students quit before gradation.Matthews cites experts when blaming “large, impersonal, rule-bound schools that don’t adjust well to individual needs and peculiarities.”Matthew’s article discusses online courses as a possible solution that offers a “flexible approach” for students who are capable of understanding the information but are stifled in traditional classroom settings.
Online courses have become increasingly popular for both secondary and higher education.High schools are using online courses not only as a part of anti-dropout campaigns but also to offer AP courses to excelling students.For many high schools students, online courses are an exciting opportunity to be exposed to new material and to diverse groups of people from different geographic regions.Both preparing students for technology driven work places and giving students a global view of the world, online courses offer students experiences traditional classes can not match.
Online courses are as popular on a college level.The State University of New York offers an award winning education programs through the SUNY Learning Network.UC Berkley, University of Colorado, and Iowa State University, just to name a few, also offer online courses to students seeking flexibility in their course load.In addition to these colleges and universities, online colleges offer online courses and the freedom to complete an entire degree program via the Internet.
Online courses are also available on the graduate level.The University of Phoenix is a popular and well-known online option.Also, more and more highly ranked traditional colleges and universities are offering online masters degrees.On February 11, 28 Penn State announced their new online master’s degree in Systems Engineering.
Whether as an option for troubled high-school students unable to attend classes or for already successful engineers seeking a quality graduate degree from a well established university, it is clear that online courses are succeeding at providing students across the world a flexible and quality education.
