The survey of distance education degree programs and learning platforms in the USA

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Kharkiv State Academy of Culture

The survey of distance education degree programs and learning platforms in the USA

Oliinyk O.V., PhD in social

communic. studies, associate professor

Derevianko I.V., PhD in pedagogy,

senior lecturer

Abstract

Distance Education has been recognized as a distinct and important channel of education in general. It has helped to widen the education base for all kinds of students. It has reached out to people who would otherwise have remained deprived of education. The efficacy of distance education is now well acknowledged. Studies have shown that well-designed and well-managed distance education programs produce fruitful learning outcomes. These outcomes are equal to those of conventional face-to-face education. Previously, distance education was considered as correspondence study. However, recent developments in technology have dramatically changed the concept of Distance Education. Today, besides print, the audio, video and computer technologies have become the delivery modes. Distance education is a phenomenon which is geographically dispersed but educationally and knowledgably amalgamated. This paper elaborates the specific features of distance education as a tool for achieving the access of education for unreached.

Keywords: distance education, web-based education, online degrees, online courses, virtual classroom, technology adoption, technology uptake, technology use, online programs, learning platforms

Formulation of the problem

For many working adults, attending college fulltime is not an option because they must continue to work while simultaneously pursuing a degree. With more and more individuals unable to conform to the requirements of a traditional program on campus, many schools now offer online programs with more flexible schedules and customization options. This is making online study an increasingly popular alternative for working adults striving to reach their academic and professional goals.

Most working adults choose to pursue a degree program to advance or change their career, or even just to increase their value in their current workplace. As the economy and job environment continues to recover from the recession of 2011-2018s, the most effective solution for job security is to look for a job opening or pursue training in a field with the most continued demand. Today, the most popular and best online degree programs are within business, healthcare, education, and engineering.

Analysis of recent research and publications

Unsolved part of the problem

Distance education enrollments increased for the fourteenth straight year, growing faster than they have for the past several years. From 2002 to 2012 both distance and overall enrollments grew annually, but since 2012 distance growth has continued its steady increase in an environment that saw overall enrollments decline for four straight years and the largest for-profit distance education institutions continue to face serious issues and lose their enrollments.

The number of distance education students grew by 5.6% from Fall 2015 to Fall 2016 to reach 6,359,121 who are taking at least one distance course, representing 31.6% of all students. Total distance enrollments are composed of 14.9% of students (3,003,080) taking exclusively distance courses, and 16.7% (3,356,041) who are taking a combination of distance and non-dis- tance courses.

Year-to-year changes in distance enrollments continue to be very uneven with different higher education sectors, with continued steady growth for public institutions, similar levels of growth (albeit on a much smaller base) for the private non-profit sector, and the continuation of the decline in total enrollments for the private for-profit sector for the fourth year in a row.

Distance education enrollments are highly concentrated in a relatively small number of institutions. Almost half of distance education students are concentrated in just five percent of institutions, while the top 47 institutions (just 1.0% of the total) enroll 22.4% (1,421,703) of all distance students. This level of concentration is most extreme among the for-profit sector, where 85.6% of the distance students are enrolled at the top 5% of institutions. Concentration rates for private not-for-profit institutions are lower, while public institutions show very low levels of concentration.

Distance enrollments remain local: 52.8% of all students who took at least one distance course also took an on-campus course, and of those who took only distance courses 56.1% reside in the same state as the institution at which they are enrolled. Virtually no distance enrollments are international: only 0.7% of all distance students are located outside of the United States.

The total number of students studying on campus (those not taking any distance course or taking a combination of distance and non-distance courses) dropped by over a million (1,173,805, or 6.4%) between 2012 and 2016. The largest declines came at for-profit institutions, which saw a 44.1% drop, while both private not-forprofit institutions (-4.5%) and public institutions (-4.2%) saw far smaller decreases.

The number of students who are not taking any distance courses declined even more from 2012 to 2016, down by 11.2% (1,737,955 students) by the end of the period. The private for-profit sector fared worse (down 50.5%) as compared to both private not-for- profit institutions (-9.5%) and public institutions (- 7.7%).

There are now fewer students studying on campus than at any point since 2012. The growth in the number of students taking only distance courses, coupled with the overall decline in the overall number of students enrolled, means that there are now over a million fewer students coming to campus in 2016 than there was in 2012. This decline has been present across all sectors of higher education. Both public and private not-for- profit instructions had moderate declines during this period, down 4.5% among public institutions and down 4.2% for the private not-forprofits. The private for- profit institutions suffered a 44.1% decline.

The purpose of the article

Online education is no longer a trend. Rather, it is mainstream. As developments in educational technology continue to advance, the ways in which we deliver and receive knowledge in both the traditional and online classrooms will further evolve. It is necessary to investigate and understand the progression and advancements in educational technology and the variety of methods used to deliver knowledge to improve the quality of education we provide today and motivate, inspire, and educate the students of the 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to examine the strengths and pitfalls of online distance learning in the formal education system.

Results

distance education strength weaknesse

Having researched the present day situation, we have received the following results. The 10 most popular online degrees for 2018 include Business Management and Administration, General Business, Accounting, Nursing, Psychology, Communications and Mass Media, Marketing and Marketing Research, Marketing and Marketing Research, General Education, Elementary Education, English Language and Literature.

Graduates of a business management and administration program are skilled in directing a broad range of support services for a business or organization. The development of relevant skills makes business management one of the best online degree programs for students today. Depending on a candidate's particular skill set and career goals, they may seek employment in a broad range of positions, from administration manager to management consultant, and in a wide array of fields, including both public and private management firms and corporations, financial institutions, local government, and more. 814 students out of every 10,000 American college students are majoring in business management and administration with the average salary of $86,110 and have the following acquired skills: scheduling, recordkeeping, budgeting, staff coordination, and supervision.

Earning a general business degree can provide the skills and training for a variety of careers, from admin-34 istration manager to senior management. Online business degrees typically incorporate broad clerical, management, and financial competencies that are required in today's workplace, be it at a small startup company or a large global corporation. 539 students out of every 10,000 college students are majoring in general business with the average salary of $175,110 and such acquired skills as supervision and leadership, accounting, operations management, budget management.

All businesses and organizations are in need of employees trained in accounting to ensure finances are properly handled, making online accounting degrees one of the best online degrees students can earn for job options upon graduation. Private businesses, non-profit organizations, and government organizations all must keep accurate records, make certain employees are paid, and ensure that all applicable taxes are filed and paid properly and timely. Accounting graduates help businesses remain in compliance with all fiscal laws and regulations. 463 students out of every 10,000 college students are majoring in accounting, with the average salary of $67,740 and such acquired skills as budget analysis, financial planning, analysis of financial documents, preparation of financial documents and statements.

Deciding to attend school online is a tough decision. Though it tends to be more convenient for students, the thousands of online programs offered can be quite overwhelming. How do students know which program they want to pursue? Which schools offer that, and how do students know which one is right for them? The sheer amount of information may seem too much at times. Here is a list of 16 best online universities that offer a variety of Bachelor's, Master's, Doctoral degrees and postgraduate certificates.

UMass offers 113 online programs completely online and an additional 12 programs that can be completed by combining on-campus and online study. The University is known for its Master's of Business Administration, Doctorate of Nursing, and Master's of Public Health programs. Distance learners are enrolled in classes from the same prestigious professors who teach on-campus, they are also given the opportunity to walk at graduation on-campus, and are offered library resources and academic counseling.

The University of Florida offers more than 300 online programs, with its online MBA program ranked #1 in the state of Florida and online bachelor's program ranked #13, according to U.S. News & World Report. The University offers over 16 different colleges leading to bachelor's, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees. Distance students have access to an online management system, library resources, career opportunity services, and an online registration program. UF is known for its large research program and is recognized by The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education for their scholarly research efforts.

Florida State University is proud to provide nationally renowned faculty members and academic programs. As an accredited university, FSU students, whether online or on campus, are given the maximum attention for success through high standards, quality assurance, and continuous improvement to make courses better and better. FSU offers multiple classes, and even complete degrees, that can be completed 100% online. So if you've been meaning to complete your degree, or even attain a master's degree but have no way of reaching the FSU campus, be sure to check out their online programs.

New Mexico State University's distance education program is in place to help students that may not be able to gain an education the traditional way. NMSU enrolls more than 15,000 students and has received national recognition from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Programs include bachelor, master's, and certification programs of many kinds.

University of Missouri offers more than 90 online degrees and certificate programs including nine various bachelor degree programs such as Hospitality Management, Educational Studies, Health Sciences, and Radiography. Some programs require students to participate on campus for tests or hands-on learning. Online classes are taught by the same on-campus faculty. Semesters range from eight to sixteen weeks depending on the course offered, but all online classes are self-paced. Mizzou uses three different course management systems including Blackboard, Moodle, and Sakai to allow students easy access to their classes.

Many people find that online education is their best option. Completing online college courses can typically be done at your own pace. This makes online learning a great option for people who cannot take time off of work. This additional flexibility is perfect for people who work during the day.

Popular online courses are almost always more affordable than traditional classroom courses, and some are even free. Most online courses are cheap enough to pay out of pocket. This means there is no need for student loans. Taking courses online also makes learning very easily accessible. You can access many online courses through multiple platforms, including PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Many learning platforms offer a variety of popular online courses. The most trusted and reliable are given below.

Coursera offers courses taught by instructors from many of the most reputable and well-respected educational institutions, including Ivy League schools (such as Harvard courses). In addition to single courses, Coursera offers specialization programs and degree programs. Specialization programs offer several courses centered around a specific skill. Degree programs offer accredited and university-recognized degrees through Coursear's online learning environment.

Udemy is for online learners seeking to take classes on an individual basis. Rather than a monthly subscription fee, Udemy charges a fee for each course a student takes.

Lynda is one of the leading online learning platforms. For a monthly subscription fee, users gain full access to their full online course catalog. They offer nearly 6,500 courses ranging across a large variety of topics, including business, technology and creative skills, such as writing, design and photography.

Although the sites we have featured are different in terms of pricing and trial period, the process in all of them is the same. Each site has a different variety of online courses to choose from but usually a user starts by picking a course category and then a sub category. While some sites offer almost any topic - from finance, real estate and up to video design, others are more focused on a specific area - i.e. treehouse or code school which specialize in web development courses.

After a user has chosen a topic, they will get a list of relevant courses - curated by different people / experts. Most sites offer a way to filter this list based on the following criteria: level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) language (if applicable), special features and pricing.

The best part of taking an online course in any of the above sites is the ability to watch and listen to the materials anywhere and anytime (stop and continue whenever a user has got the time). Most sites also provide an option to arrange a user's courses based on tags / collections so a user can keep track of the different topics he is learning and his progress status in each.

Getting feedback from users is very important to the sites above and that is why a user will get an option to review each course they take. Once a user has completed a course / specialization / learning path (each site uses a slightly different terminology) they will be able to issue an online course certificate to show of their achievements.

According to Forbes, online courses are becoming part of the fabric of both student and professional life and it is only getting stronger as years go by. Thus it's no doubt that online education is the future of learning - not just because it simplifies the learning process but also because it's accessible anytime and almost anywhere. Also, companies and hiring managers are aware of these factors and take them into account when considering candidates.

Conclusion

Online education has not only changed the landscape for distance education, but has greatly impacted higher education as a whole across the globe. We have seen the proliferation of for-profit institutions of higher education, the commercialization of education by traditional non-profit institutions, and a continued increase in the demand for online education (1).

The traditional brick-and-mortar institution has existed for centuries; its current infrastructure has been in place for decades, and faculty, in the traditional classroom, have taught very much as they did fifty years ago. This is changing. John Sener (12), argues, “education has been, is being, and will continue to be cyberized” (p. 157). He defines “cyberize” as “adapt[ing] to digital technology or culture” (p. 125). Sener contends that the first era of online education has been devoted to providing access, while the second era has the potential to improve the quality of education as a whole, not just online education. It is not about changing the knowledge being conveyed, but merely shifting the way it is “transmitted, preserved, and generated” (12, p. 124). Richard Levin, former president of Yale and current Chief Executive Officer of Coursera, stated, “In 10 or 20 years, when we judge the great universities, it will not just be on their research but on the reach of their teaching” (5).

Distance education, since its inception in the 1700s, was about making knowledge accessible to more than just a privileged few. Just as financial aid and scholarships make education possible for those who are unable to afford the cost, distance education makes education attainable for those who are unable to sit in the traditional classroom. It is now time to focus on the quality of the education we provide, both in the classroom and online, and use the technology and innovations available today to motivate, inspire, and educate the students of the 21st century.

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