Online education booms in an era of lifelong learning (WorkingNation)
‘Strictly online institutions tend to serve working-age or older adults requiring flexible schedules constructed around family obligations and work.
“Folks arrive at higher ed for a multitude of reasons,” says Julie Uranis, senior vice president of online and strategic initiatives for UPCEA (the Online and Professional Education Association), a resource for online university programs.
“Online learning gives them an ability to engage where otherwise they might not be able to simply because of time and schedule and location, and a whole variety of personal factors.”
But the 53.2% that are distance learners also includes more-traditional students at brick-and-mortar colleges.
“Post pandemic, the world has changed,” Uranis says. “More learners are expecting and wanting online learning, even if they’re an 18- to 24-year-old living in the residences on a campus.”’
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