There are many people who are very busy in their careers, but want to advance with their education in order to further their career in their chosen industry. With the demands for continuing education high, there are several higher learning institutions that open up their online campus to cater the education needs of busy people. They offer full curriculum and classes that are typically taken on a physical campus. Right not, many courses, majors and degrees are offered through online education especially in the graduate level. With further advancement of technology, most online schools now offer programs even in the undergraduate level. Of course, there are some pros and cons of online education and if you are thinking about taking a degree online, you have to carefully give it a time to think and see if the pros will outweighs the cons or vice versa.

Pros of Online Education

10. Time flexibility

One of the main pros of online education is that the online courses offer convenience to the students in which they can take the classes at the comfort of their house (of course, they need a computer and internet connection) and at their own pacing. These online classes still have a similarity to the campus classes wherein there are assignments, paper works and other lecture/discussion that must be submitted on time.

9. Availability

As more and more higher learning of institutions offering online education, more and more degree and programs, majors and minors are being open up to the students. Certificates, diplomas, associate, bachelor and master’s degree – these are the common program conferred by these institutions. Students can ‘shop around’ to find the right school for their need and requirements.

8. 24/7 access to the classes/course material

Notes, readings and other course materials are available online. Since it is over the internet, you can download and read the course materials anytime that you want.

7. Flexibility about the location

Most online schools are offering their online degree program to every people wanting to finish their degree online, whether in this country or all over the world and because the convenience of this study, more busy individuals is engaging in online education. Since this is offered worldwide, the students are well-diverse.

6. No more commuting for students

Since the classes are in the World Wide Web, students and even the instructors do not have to commute or ride their car going to their classrooms. They just sit down and focus on the class at hand at the comfort of their home.

5. Study pace

The classes offered in online education are geared towards busy and working individuals – in the industry or with their family. They are made in such a way that they can study without having to disrupt their regular schedules and the requirements are not that strict.

4. Self-Direction

The students are allowed to select how they will complete their course as long as they meet the minimum requirements. In other words, the students are the directing his/her course of study. He/she can complete the program faster, on-time or longer because it is dependent on him/her

3. Teachers

The teachers instructing in online classes are also professional just like with the physical classes. The teachers who are teaching on-campus are also trained to teach online in order to maintain the high quality of curriculum of their institution.

2. Multi-media presentations

Most of the online courses make use of various media with the likes of webcam, CD/DVD and many more. These are the teachers’ means of reaching out to their students and in teaching them the lessons at hand and this will definitely help the students in completing their paper and homework.

1. Courses offered in online education

MBA, Nursing, and Accountant – these are some of the courses/degree programs you can take online. Master’s, bachelor’s, associate and certificate or diploma – these are some of the degree being awarded online.

Cons of Online Schools

10. There is limited interaction with teacher

One of the drawbacks of online education is the limitation in teaching. Since the classes are taken over the internet, the teachers and students will heavily rely on the online materials such as the readings and notes. Students who thrive on one-on-one interaction with teachers may encounter difficulty in this setting.

9. Requirements for the students

One of the main requirements in taking online education is the technology. Students will need a computer, some programs/software, webcam and internet connection. There is a minimum requirement for the computer that students have to use and the internet connection must be stable. For the part of the institution, some is still in the process of establishing concrete technical support.

8. Social/peer to peer interaction

When you try or attend online education, you will have no physical interaction with your classmates. You will talk to them online as well. Your discussions are made over the internet.

7. Lack of campus environment

If you want to engage in extracurricular activities on campus, do not expect to have this kind of activities in online education. However, this is not that a major disadvantage if you are a working or professional individual who is just seeking enhancement of education to further your career.

6. Management of time

Although you will set your own pace in your studies, you still have to meet deadlines. Students who are used to procrastinating may face difficulty in online education especially in adapting to the structure of the online education.

5. The Stigma over Degrees earned online

There is a stigma before that degrees earned online are not that comparable to the degrees attained in traditional school setting because online degrees are easy. Fortunately, there are increasing number of employers that value the degree earned online.

4. Difficulty over transferring of credits

If you are seeking to transfer your credits from online education to traditional school, you may have hard time achieving success with it because of the stigma.

3. Lack of Financial aid

If you do not have the money to pay for the tuition, most online schools do not offer financial aid. You have to thoroughly look for that one institution offering financial aid with their online education.

2. May take longer than expected

If the students is really busy with his/her work, he/she may take longer to complete the program.

1. Stability of Internet connection

If you live in an area where internet reception is not good, you may have hard time engaging in conferencing with your online classes. It is important to have some knowledge about the computer and internet before engaging in online education.