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A recent report has revealed that an approximated one in four students who attend university are now studying online. In America, around six million students have favored an online course over the typical forms of learning. This has been a trend that has seen growth over the past 13 years. But why are more students favoring this form of learning and what has lead to its increased popularity over the last few years?

Accessibility

In the past, online learning just wasn’t an option for students for one key reason, accessibility. Several years ago, there were very few universities that offered online courses and even fewer universities that were run purely online. The demand wasn’t there, and more importantly, the technology wasn’t there. Now, it certainly is with many homes having ultra-fast broadband connections, allowing them to stream lectures, download course notes and get all the information they need. It doesn’t matter whether you live miles from the nearest city. You could still enroll in a university course online and rarely leave your home.

Choice

Once the technology caught up with the demand, online education was always going to be a favored option among students due to the level of choice that it provided. When students head to university, they want to have the freedom to study what they want, how they want, when they want. Most colleges don’t allow this, but online courses do. With an online course like an accredited online MBA program, students can choose exactly what they want to study from an eclectic range of different courses to choose the right career for them. Of course, this isn’t the only advantage that additional levels of choice provide.

Flexibility

With a greater level of choice, students can also decide when and how they want to study. They can take longer on some courses than others and determine when they want to catch up on lectures. That’s important as it allows them to base their learning around other commitments that they have made in life, such as a career. It’s becoming clear that businesses don’t want green workers, even when hiring out of university. They want people with a little experience already under their belt, and then there is the financial pressure. We all know how expensive life can be for student. In this context, online courses start to make a lot more sense.

A Cheaper Deal

Of course, by studying online students are also getting the cheaper deal. The cost of an online course is a fraction of what you would be expected to pay for a full university course. Particularly, if you need to take other things into account such as lodging. As such, by studying online students don’t leave university, already buried in debt. Instead, they can have a clean slate to work with and ensure that they don’t get trapped under the weight of student loan repayments.

As you can see then, there are a number of reasons why the online courses are now being more strongly favored in the student population. It’s not just the level of freedom they bring. From a financial perspective, they are the superior option.