In Light Of Recession Colleges Go Virtual To Keep Serving Students
Posted by ama on 27th December and posted in scholarships
In New York, it will be foreign languages, the classics and theater university distance learning degree. In Missouri, it could be agriculture and special education. Public colleges and universities throughout the country are cutting a variety of associates, bachelors, masters and PhD programs, as well as certificate programs.
State government money helps colleges and universities to operate, and state budgets in the economic downturn have been reduced. Tuition in some instances might have increased to compensate for the difference. At some public colleges and universities, there might be fewer staff and faculty members.
Potential double-digit reductions at public colleges and universities in Missouri could reportedly reach as high as 15 percent. Already, more than 100 positions have been eliminated at public institutions in Louisiana as part of $280 million in reductions, according to a report from KSLA News 12. One public institution in Louisiana increased its tuition by $300 per semester, the KSLA News 12 report noted.
Many public colleges and universities have been eliminating what they say are their less popular bachelor of science. One Missouri institution is considering cutting programs where fewer than 10 associate and bachelors degrees are provided after three years on average, an article in the Kansas City Star in October reported. There are also graduate degree programs where fewer than three degrees are awarded that might go, the Kansas City Star report noted.
One New York institution has reportedly eliminated entire departments as well as bachelors degree programs. That university, which is located upstate, has done away with its theater and classics degrees – and its Russian, Italian and French departments, an October “Talk of the Nation” report noted. According to “Talk of the Nation,” which airs on National Public Radio, state assistance provided to the university has, over the course of three years, diminished by more than $44 million, or 30 percent.
At least one institution is moving some of its bachelors degree programs online as a means of saving money. Already, some 74,000 students are participating in 135 online degree programs at the institution, an article in the student newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel, noted. “In the long run it will be less expensive, because you’ll cut down on the buildings you’d have to build,” university board member Frank Daniels, Jr., was quoted in the Daily Tar Heel as saying.
Students participate in online degree programs remotely, from wherever they have Internet access. They set their own schedules. They don’t have to commute back and forth to campus or worry about childcare. Students also have the ability to enhance their technology skills, since instruction that’s a part of many online associate and bachelors degree programs as well as graduate programs includes video and audio, and interactive elements.
Employers have reported viewing online degrees as having the same weight as those obtained in a traditional campus setting. Colleges and universities with physical campuses, along with virtual schools, offer online degrees. Students can find a variety of associate and bachelors degree programs, as well as graduate degree and certificate offerings, online. In instances where the degree programs in which they’re participating are cut in their entirety, students might be able to complete their degrees online through an online degree offering from another institution.
