Why do People Enroll in Online Education?

All students have hopes, goals, dreams and desires; some are more realistic than others. Each is limited in their available time and resources to make those dreams a reality. Higher education affords the opportunity for people to achieve parts of their dreams and find ways of moving up the social ladder. Unfortunately, life has many different types of roadblocks people must navigate to achieve their goals. According to a study in the Journal of Educators the students who choose online education do so for scheduling purposes (Fontenot, et. al., 2015).

Many of today's students are older than those of the past and the ever changing market requires them to be adjustable while continually learning new ideas and concepts. That new knowledge can come from informal and formal sources. Education is one of those formal educational processes that leads to a degree that can be used to apply for job openings.

People don't always go to college right out of high school nor do they have the resources to focus only on their education. Some people will graduate from college early and go back to college at a later date to receive a master's degree or some other degree that helps them stay on top of their fields. The fluid nature of the market makes it difficult for people to keep updated.

Online education is one way to go to school while not giving up on traditional responsibilities. Some people have work responsibilities while others may have family responsibilities. Juggling these responsibilities is difficult at best. Trying to further education in a ground based system may be near impossible for many people and could limit their potential contributions to society.

Based upon a survey of 165 students it was found that students who choose to take online courses do so because of timing and scheduling; they enjoyed the flexibility and convenience of online education. A mitigating factor was perception of quality.  Students who perceived online education as a valuable quality proposition will be more inclined to go online.

The study helps us understand that as the real and perceived quality of education rises and people become more familiar with online education there will likely be a higher percentage of society taking online courses. As traditional universities, and existing online universities, improve their offerings they will attract motivated students who feel that the quality and convenience of their education affords them new options. For a generation growing up with more familiarity of technology online education will seem to be a natural fit.

Fontenot, R. et. al. (2015) Predictors of enrolling in online courses: an exploratory study of students in undergraduate marketing courses. Journal of Educators, 12 (1).