BellaOnline Forums Education Distance Learning Will the economy affect Distance Learning?

One of the issues recent in the world of education is the effect of the economy on financing higher learning. You begin to worry a bit when your alma mater president states the economy is affecting enrollment at the college and its because of a lack of funding, ability to offer financial aid (or an adequate amount). At one time there were not enough seats to accomodate all applicants qualified for admission. Now there is not enough funding to accomodate those few who do get accepted.

Question:
Will the financial woes of the country change the criteria for admission from gpa, SAT, GRE's and other such test results to "if you can find the money to pay for it youre in"?

Your thoughts.....
Sanita

I'm thinking that the economy will definitely have an effect on people attending college.
I think distance learning will grow faster then instructor led courses because you can accomodate more students since everything is virtual.
And then, yet again, more people will need training on new job skills so there is some hope if employers can maintain their tuition reimbursement benefits.
All this to say...I guess it's hard to say :-)

Dianne,
In much of the information I come across concerning distance learning many roads lead to distance learning becoming a larger part of higher education than in the past. One of the concerns to look out for in higher education period including funding for career training is the current financial crisis and how it will affect funding for such programs.

If there is money to go to college more people go during an economic downturn than in prosperous times. Distance learning, especially now that regular colleges such as The University of Alabama are offering on-line degrees, is going to become the norm rather than the exception. Even within colleges some of the classes in high school, and land based colleges are using the Internet and video conferencing to teach a class.

Funding is the biggest issue we have right now. I think if the government would stop allowing loans for programs that are not accredited there would be more money to go around.

Do you think the availability of space, as often occurs on a college campus, will be a factor for online programs at traditional colleges? I think admissions standards will waiver to accommodate larger online classrooms. Do you think the fees for online/distance learning will begin to increase exponentially or remain at the same costs they are currently at in comparison to a campus based students costs?

At one point I thought that the availability of space would be a factor at traditional colleges. I think the trend toward online (distance learning) will increase as the "older" college student (non-traditional), or the person going back to work is trying to improve their skills for career advancement goes back to school.

I don't know if the costs will change, I would almost think that costs would go lower to encourage people to attend online so that fewer instructors are needed. Just a thought.