The Pro Education

College and university degrees are costly, representing a big investment in time and money. So how do you know you are getting a good deal? As with any other major purchase, you need to understand the market value of what you’re buying. It’s convenient to represent higher education costs with dollar symbols, much the way travel guides represent the costs of restaurants or hotels. In the cost index below, we give examples of schools at each cost level, along with their actual 2013-14 tuitions plus fees. The costs given are for full-time study (covering two semesters), and exclude living expenses (food, housing, transportation), which can add considerably to education costs as well. Here is the index: $ = $5,000 or less (Santa Barbara City College, $1,400) $+ = $10,000 (University of Iowa, $8,100) $$ = $15,000 (University of Virginia, $12,400) $$+ = $20,000 (Regent University, $16,100) $$$ = $25,000 (Hillsdale College, $22,890) $$$+ = $30,000 (Calvin College, $28,000) $$$$ = $35,000 (Baylor University, $32,700) $$$$+ = $40,000 (Ithaca College, $38,400) $$$$$ =$45,000 (MIT, $43,200) $$$$$+ = $50,0000 (Columbia University, $49,100) $$$$$$ = more than $50,000 (Sarah Lawrence College, $51,300) Each increment here is $5,000. At this writing in 2014, the very most expensive schools top out at around $50,000 per year.

Keep two things in mind about the costs listed here: First, there is a huge difference between in-state and out-of-state tuitions for state schools. For instance, the University of Iowa is a $+ school for Iowa residents, but tuition and fees for out-of-state students come to $27,000, making it a $$$+ school for non-residents. In general, out-of-state tuitions are about three times that of in-state tuitions. Another thing to keep in mind is that schools can offer scholarship and aid packages that drastically reduce student costs. If, for instance, you get an athletics scholarship, that can cut your tuitions costs in half or even to zero. Academic scholarships and aid packages to low-income families can also reduce costs. Even so, many students have to pay out of pocket, so these costs do provide some idea of the real range of costs you may be facing. Where do online schools fit in this guide? Traditional campus-based colleges and universities are increasingly offering online programs, and these typically are priced about the same as programs where students are on campus. For schools that focus exclusively on online education, their costs typically are in the $$ to $$+ range.

Find scholarships for online students

This “restaurant guide” approach to representing higher education costs is useful because even though tuition costs tend to rise each year, the number of dollar symbols associated with a school, once adjusted for inflation, tends to stay the same over the years. Thus Sarah Lawrence College has consistently been a six-dollar sign ($$$$$$) school and most city and community colleges have consistently remained a single-dollar sign ($) school. Inflation has been much higher for education costs than for prices of typical goods and services. The federal government computes inflation through its Consumer Price Index. Here is a graph comparing the Consumer Price Index with what’s been called the Higher Education Price Index. It shows that annual inflation of educational costs is about twice that of ordinary inflation.

Even though this diagram is a few years old, the same trend continues to this day. Education costs now, in 2014, are 12 times what they were 35 years ago. Ordinary inflation, by contrast, is less than 4 times what it was 35 years ago. So if you are a parent thinking of saving for your children’s education, you’ll need to invest your money where the return stays well ahead of ordinary inflation. This can be a challenge. Because money is such a major concern for most of us in pursuing college and university degrees, we use our cost index not just to describe the approximate annual cost of degree programs, but also to compare the costs of different types of programs. This will help you to determine whether you are getting value for your dollar. Higher education costs are extremely variable, and paying more doesn’t necessarily get you more. The data above describe traditional on-campus tuition and fees. Price estimates use information from the U.S. Department of Education and are calculated based on one year, full-time student status. Full-time status is considered 24 credit hours per year (usually 8 courses over 2 semesters) for undergraduate students and 18 credit hours per year (usually 6 courses over 2 semesters) for graduate students. School tuitions and fees, and national averages, are adjusted to account for projected inflation up to 2016. Note that these costs do not include housing and food, which can add considerably to costs, especially if you need to live on campus and pay for a meal plan. When comparing prices, every detail matters. Some schools utilize quarter credits instead of semester credits. To find out more about quarter credits and how they affect price.

Selecting a school for an autistic child, especially one who is not high-functioning, is a heavy responsibility. The decision may have a profound and long-lasting impact on the child’s life and family. Because autism is so heart-rending, parents are often willing to try and do just about anything to help their autistic child. Taking a second mortgage, selling one’s house, and relocating are not uncommon. It’s therefore with trepidation that we offer this article on schools for children with autism. In many of our articles here at TheBestSchools.org, we rank schools and provide positive recommendations about programs; and even though we check and double-check our facts, if we’ve made a mistake or missed something, it’s unlikely to have dire consequences. Not so with this article. The decisions struggling parents of autistic children make in response to this article may be life changing, for good or ill. We have therefore tried to be scrupulously accurate in the information provided here. Moreover, we did not feel it appropriate to rank schools for children with autism, as though these schools admit a straight linear ordering and that parents of autistic children should vie to get their children into the “top schools.” There is too much sorrow connected with this disability to play such games. So, as you read this article, please do not take it as the final word. We recognize that school recommendations by parents with autistic children can be very useful. We therefore encourage parents to talk to as many other parents as they can about schools they are considering. We also encourage them to talk with special education advocates and attorneys, who are good sources of information regarding which school districts to seek and which to avoid.

From Special Ed to Schools Specifically Targeting Autism

Because autism can be so debilitating to children, parents are often urged to seek out programs that go beyond the special education resources available in public schools. Ideally, such programs use treatment procedures and methods with a documented history of effectiveness—programs that have been well researched and shown to significantly help autistic children. Yet just what sort of intervention will in fact help an autistic child is often hard to say in advance. In any case, and despite such caveats, many parents desire to place their autistic children in private schools specifically dedicated to helping children with that disability. These schools provide strong therapeutic interventions, tailored for children with autism. However, these schools are expensive; the tuition can easily be as high as $75,000 per year. The tuition for these private schools may sometimes be paid, at least in part, by local school districts. Typically, in order for a school district to cover the expense of a private school, parents are required to prove to the school district that no available public school can meet their child’s needs. State Legislation for Health Plans This web page provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures includes the names of the 29 states that have enacted autism insurance reform laws requiring state-regulated health plans to provide coverage for the treatment of autism. If you live in one of these states, or you’re considering moving to one of these states, use the State Autism Reform Initiative Map to get information about the state’s autism insurance law and what it requires health plans to cover. After clicking on the state, click on the name of the state on the web page you land on and scroll down to find the information on the state’s autism insurance law. According to the Wall Street Journal, insurers in these states with autism insurance reform laws will have to cover treatments until the federal health care law, currently scheduled for 2014, is implemented. Currently, in some states insurers can deny coverage of developmental disorders because they’re considered an educational service.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and DIRFloortime

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is commonly utilized in schools to teach children with autism. ABA has been endorsed by The National Institutes of Health, the Surgeon General, and the Association for Science in Autism Research. DIR/Floortime is also commonly used in schools. DIR/Floortime is based on the works of the late Dr. Stanley Greenspan, formerly Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences, and Pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School, and Chairman of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders.

Possible Drawback of Private Schools

Some parents are concerned that kids attending schools for children with autism only interact with other kids with autism and people who understand them and care for them. They believe the kids don’t have enough opportunities to learn the coping skills they’re likely to need after they graduate. Many schools for kids with autism try to compensate for this by providing opportunities for students to interact with the public in a variety of settings.

Guidelines for Our List of Schools

Our list includes nationally recognized schools, as well as schools which have received special recognition from an expert or organization, a notable award, or a ranking from a notable organization. We also consider the backgrounds of the faculty, the types of services available, the faculty-to-student ratio, and other factors. The schools on our list are private (the vast majority), unless otherwise indicated. TheBestSchools did extensive research on the Web and gathered information from relevant organizations and experts via email inquiries. We strongly encourage parents to thoroughly research any of the schools on the list they’re considering. We recommend that parents ask a school representative for testimonials from parents, as well as contact parents who have not voluntarily provided a testimonial. Ask local special education advocates and special education attorneys if they have any information about the schools. We realize there are some very good schools worthy of consideration not included in the list. There are excellent schools that have not received recognition from notable sources, awards, or rankings. If school representatives believe their school meets our criteria, or any parent believes their child’s school meets the criteria for our list, please use our contact form to send us information about the school. If TheBestSchools agrees, the school will be included in the updated editions of the list. It should be noted that TheBestSchools is not recommending schools; we are only providing information. TheBestSchools has no connection with any of these schools.

Clearly, there are numerous benefits to an online education. So, why haven’t affordable web addresses completely replaced the high-end real estate of expensive college campuses and extravagantly pillared academic halls? Well, aside from virtual frat parties simply not measuring up to the real thing, there are pitfalls to online education you must consider before proceeding. As you decide whether an online college is right for you—and consequently, which online college is most likely to meet your needs—you should be aware of the following drawback.

Inconsistent Quality Control

The quality of education, in all its forms and in spite of price tag and name, is highly variable. This is true whether you choose to study at a community college, a private university, or a vocational institute. The array of courses offered, the qualifications represented among educators, the cultural atmosphere, and the general reputation of any educational institution will figure into the value of its degree. The same is true of online education offered by organizations and institutions both storied and recent, venerable and disreputable, defined by educational excellence and by the pursuit of profit. As with any college application process, what is accessible to you and appealing to you defines your search for the right online college. Make sure you conduct due diligence when researching the quality of the degree program that attracts your interest. It is easy to find accessible online courses offered by highly reputable and respected places of higher learning. But it is just as easy to invest in an online degree program that has little or no practical value. Sadly, the same is true for many traditional degree programs. In any case, the onus is on you, the prospective student, to seek out an online college that is at once compatible with your needs and worth the money you intend to invest. No matter how affordable your online education is, your degree is only worth as much as the the knowledge and skills you gain and the respect that the degree from that college or university commands, especially in the workplace. This is not to say that a university’s reputation is the prime factor of importance when it comes to quality of education. In many instances, the degree that you earn will take second seat to the skills you attain during your course of study. If this is true for you, then you need to seek an online college with a positive track record in its quality of instruction. Consider conducting some research on the employment rate for those who have previously graduated from a given online college program. Evidence that graduates are enjoying gainful employment in their chosen field of study is usually a good indicator of an online college’s relative quality. In addition to considering the job placement rate of each online college, you are wise to be wary of those online colleges with low graduation rates. For-profit colleges, on average, have more student turnover than non-profit colleges. In this connection, an editorial in the New York Times (2013) cites a five-year study released in 2011 that monitored the progress of 51,000 students attending Washington State community and technical colleges. The study determined that students who were enrolled ion more online as opposed to brick-and-mortar classes were substantially less likely to earn a degree or move on to a four-year college. The reason offered by researchers is that too many students begin their college education lacking the basic learning skills needed to succeed in college: from independent time management and healthy study habits to competence in compositional English and research capabilities. This is true of students attending both traditional and online college classes. But it means that many students beginning their college education genuinely need the assistance, support, and motivation often found on campus, either through faculty, college counselors, existing student services, or one’s classmates. Without access to such a support network, ill-prepared students run the risk of struggling with their academic and personal responsibilities. This means that in deciding to attend an online college, you need to give very serious consideration to your preparedness to take on its inherent challenges without the support that students attending brick-and-mortar schools are more likely to get. If you feel that you would benefit in a significant way from this support—and for some, such support may mean the difference between graduating and dropping out—online college is likely to present some daunting challenges—indeed, challenges that may hinder you from obtaining a degree.

Lack of Campus Experience

For some students, the campus experience is an absolute necessity. Indeed, college is the first time that many young people will venture out from under the wing of a parent or legal guardian. To a significant extent, this will mark a first attempt at independent living, at managing one’s own schedule and personal affairs, and at balancing freedom with responsibility. Campus life is a remarkable educational experience that the online medium cannot replicate.

Stated simply, if you consider this experience to be a necessary part of your personal education, online college is probably not for you. This does not preclude you from taking some online courses from the comfort of a dorm room or off-campus housing facility. However, it does suggest that you are an unlikely candidate for earning a degree exclusively through an online college. Another drawback is the difficulty of replicating the dynamic experience of being in a classroom or an interactive lecture hall. According to U.S. News & World Report (2015), a 2013 study released by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College found that online students consistently lag behind their counterparts in the university’s brick-and-mortar classrooms. In many instances, respondents cited a lack of direct interaction with their fellow students as a major reason. Humans are social beings, and education thrives through social interactions. One of the features that make college attractive to the inquiring mind is the extent to which it promotes the exchange of ideas and the engagement of discussion that is only possible in a room full of keen fellow learners. For many, the asynchronous rhythm of an online bulletin board system that online colleges provide simply doesn’t do enough to simulate as well as stimulate that experience. Though small group interaction is possible through video-conferencing, no technology yet exists that can facilitate the type of rapid-fire exchange and engagement that occurs in the physical classroom. The same disintermediation can impede the ability of students and educators to develop a constructive working relationship. Without seeking direct engagement, a student may find this mode of communication decidedly more impersonal than even a large lecture hall. When it comes to these features, your personal preference will play a significant part in your final decision. How much you need or desire face-to-face interaction will be a strong determinant of how satisfied you are likely to be with an online education. If online colleges are your only option and you have limited background with web-mediated education, prepare yourself for a more solitary learning experience. Moreover, if you feel that you would benefit from real, face-to-face interaction, contact others in your class who might be interested in creating a local study group. As we note in the “Tips” section of this guide, meeting with classmates at a coffee shop or library to discuss course content—or simply to become better acquainted—can be a great way of overcoming the sense of isolation that sometimes accompanies online education.

Cloudy Career Prospects

There is a justifiable concern for many prospective students that some employers view online education with suspicion. Even as online degrees proliferate and gain increasing mainstream credibility, some employers remain skeptical of their value relative to the traditional degree earned by attending a physical campus. Still, an article in U.S. News & World Report (2012) notes that increasingly employers are less concerned with the medium through which individuals receive a degree than with the institution that bestowed it. The article goes on to say, “hiring managers understand that online courses from top programs, such as Harvard Business School, are credible, according to [Brad] Remillard [cofounder and executive recruiter at IMPACT Hiring Solutions Executive Search in Orange County, Florida]. ‘If Harvard puts this on, it’s probably a high-quality program,’ he says.”[35] This is to say a degree earned online from a truly venerable institution has the same respect as a traditional degree. Today, employers are accepting online degrees with an increasing sense of normalcy. They are, however, looking over carefully the online colleges which award these degrees. In the “Tips” section of this guide, we will offer a few recommendations for navigating a job market that has decidedly mixed feelings about online education.

Results May Vary

At the heart of your search for the right online college is your own level of compatibility with web-mediated education. One of the key differences with online colleges is that in many ways you are truly on your own. Much of your research will have to be self-guided. Your ability to maintain an effective study schedule will be up to you. You will have limited access to campus personnel, guidance counselors, and faculty. Therefore, before determining whether online college is the right path for you, make sure you can properly deal with this type of independence. One of the valuable aspects of campus life is that there are many services and personnel close at hand to help you ease into your course of education. Such services can help you locate academic assistance, plot out your path of study, select your major, and participate in meaningful campus activities. You must do much of this navigation on your own when you attend an online college. This can make for a difficult adjustment period and one that can interfere with your studies.

This is not to say that online education is completely lacking in support services. All online colleges will have some support services. Yet, as with all other aspects of online education, the support services offered will vary from one school to the next. Before beginning an online degree program, make sure that the school in which you are enrolling offers a range of services commensurate to your needs and expectations. If you feel comfortable flying solo—and many students are more than prepared to do so—an online degree program may be right for you. If this is your first attempt at managing your educational affairs without the assistance of parents or teachers, make sure you are up to the challenge, that you are using all the support services available to you, and that you have somebody in your corner, be it a family member or a professional tutor, to help you through the early stages of transition and hold you accountable. As an editorial from the New York Times (2013) points out, your performance at an online college is determined in large part by the way that you have historically approached education. The editorial observes that “courses delivered solely online may be fine for highly skilled, highly motivated people, but they are inappropriate for struggling students who make up a significant portion of college enrollment and who need close contact with instructors to succeed.”[36] It is important that you, as the college applicant, know into exactly which of these categories you fall. For some enrollees, compatibility will require the adoption of improved study habits, better schedule management, and a stronger work ethic. Of course, the positive offshoot is that if you can successfully make this transition, you will also be gaining absolutely essential life skills. These skills won’t just help you to succeed in your online education; they will make you more valuable to prospective employers. That said, high rates of non-completion are rampant in online education and suggest that one must be realistic about one’s abilities before deciding to go this route

The explosion in online college enrollment over the last decade makes perfect sense. Web-mediated education has opened up a world of opportunity to populations previously excluded and it has transformed the strategic landscape for traditional institutions of higher education. All told, its benefits are considerable and are likely only to grow more numerous and impactful as the technology, standards, and processes which channel online education are refined. Next, we consider some of the most compelling benefits of an online education.

Improved Flexibility

For many potential students, online colleges represent the one and only path to a formal higher education. Because the web-mediated nature of online colleges allows for instruction and interaction that is both synchronous (live online lectures, live chats, etc.) and asynchronous (lecture podcasts, bulletin boards, email exchanges), students have a better opportunity to balance personal or professional demands with academic responsibilities. Consequently, online college is an attractive option for many students who must also work for a living. According to EdTech Magazine, 27 percent of distance learners in 2012 also maintained full-time employment. This not only implies the benefit of improved control over schedule management, but also suggests that in the broader scheme, online colleges are making higher education more readily available to those for whom economic limitations might otherwise preclude enrollment. The proliferation of online colleges means many aspiring students no longer face a choice between working and learning. For many working Americans who wish to learn new skills, enhance their professional stature, or simply improve their body of knowledge, online education presents a chance to do so without sacrificing either income or career trajectory. This is one of the reasons that online education has proven so popular among adult learners who wish to balance hectic personal lives with the pursuit of new skills and certifications. According to a CNN (2010) article about employment and online education, “‘Online degree programs are designed to help adult learners with busy lives earn their degree without being tied down to class times and without having to go to campus,’ says Jeff Caplan, dean of strategic enrollment management at American Sentinel University, an online university.”[22] For prospective students already immersed in a career or who have a family to support, the flexibility and accessibility afforded by online education may make it the only realistic way to return to school. Over the past decade, online colleges have also seen significant jumps in enrollment from younger members of the workforce. In particular, during the Great Recession that began in 2008, many young graduates who were dissatisfied with the job market ahead of them or who wished to make themselves more valuable to prospective employers found shelter and opportunity at online colleges. In a marked contrast from the preceding era in which “going back to school” meant leaving one’s job, online colleges are enabling young workers to actually improve their job security. The scheduling flexibility and efficiency of online education is something about which most employers are quite enthusiastic. Indeed, some employers are even willing to help fund this education, if it means employees can use newly learned skills and knowledge within the company. Many larger, publicly traded firms have well-established programs that help to facilitate this kind of continuing online education.

Better Access

In many ways, online education substantially expands and improves access to higher education for countless groups that might otherwise not have the opportunity. For prospective students living in remote geographical settings or sparsely populated rural regions, brick-and-mortar institutions of higher learning may be few and far between. By contrast, online colleges are physically accessible to all with a computer terminal and a high speed web connection. This diminishes the need for relocation, housing, or a taxing commute for many students. For many others, it does nothing less than make higher education feasible. This extends to American students who must study from abroad, whether because of personal obligation or military service. The flexibility of scheduling and the elimination of spatial limitations means that students can continue to pursue degree programs from anywhere in the world. Of course, this access doesn’t just apply to people limited due to their immediate geographical surroundings. The same is true for those who struggle with any number of potential impediments to access, mobility, or engagement of campus facilities. Online education eases the transportation burden on those who may struggle with physical disability and can represent a safe alternative to daily use of a university’s facilities for the handicapped. This same benefit makes online education an attractive option for seniors wishing to return to school. Those who lack the means or physical ability to step into a classroom can still gain the knowledge or skills they desire without leaving the house. That said, many online colleges are still learning how to accommodate a full range of disabilities. A recent federal lawsuit filed against Harvard and MIT casts this challenge into harsh light. According to the suit raised by the National Association of the Deaf, both of these venerable universities are guilty of discrimination against the hearing-impaired for failing to provide captioning for their constantly growing set of online course offerings. According to the Boston Globe (2015), the lawsuit targeted the schools because they are among the most prominent and most rapidly expanding providers of “massive open online courses (MOOCs).”[23] The goal of the suit is to bring greater attention to the need for all online schools to accommodate this and other disabilities with greater inclusiveness. Based on their early responses to the charges, Harvard and MIT appear likely to adopt new standards over the coming year, including captioning for the hearing-impaired.[24] Though the accessibility of online schools represents a leap forward for broad cross-sections of the population, the case against Harvard and MIT denotes the need for continuing improvement and refinement of what is a relatively young phenomenon in education. The case also suggests a trajectory in which the continued expansion of online education, especially through reputable institutions such as Harvard and MIT, should precipitate a continued improvement in its accessibility, and the standards that define it.

Self-Guided Experience

As a corollary to the improved flexibility and accessibility afforded online college enrollees, this medium also provides freedom from many of the social challenges relating to the college experience. Among the most basic of these advantages, the online student need not navigate campus busing systems, risk the ever-present campus parking ticket, or face the threat of physical tardiness. Students can attend classes without any of these pressures. Moreover, an article in U.S. News & World Report (2013) indicates that online colleges can actually alleviate far more serious pressures. In the last decade, thousands of veterans have returned from war in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. For many, the transition into civilian life is a very difficult one (especially those suffering with post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD). The G.I. Bill is designed to ease this transition by sending army veterans to college and ultimately helping them gain the skills they need to move into long-term civilian careers.

Nevertheless, not a few veterans struggle to adapt to campus life, while many others simply do not desire this dimension of the educational experience. The article in U.S. News & World Report recognizes that for many veterans returning from tours of combat duty, it can be difficult and unappealing to connect with recent high school graduates taking their first steps away from home. The article notes that for many military veterans transitioning into college, an online education is optimal.[26] Students in online colleges also enjoy an inherent flexibility that allows those who remain affiliated with the military to continue their studies even when their responsibilities call for unusual scheduling demands, geographical relocation, or deployment. Naturally, these benefits are not reserved for military veterans alone. However, the popularity of online courses among former servicemen and -women is a perfect demonstration of the value of a self-guided learning experience. For those who wish to procure a meaningful education without undertaking the cultural experience of campus living, online colleges may be ideal.

Affordability

College is expensive, usually in money and always in time. Certainly, this has been a major area of concern over recent years among lawmakers, within the media, and even in the nation’s highest executive offices. Students are leaving college and graduate school saddled with staggering loan debts and in spite of hand-wringing at the highest levels of government and educational leadership, relief from rising tuition rates does not appear to be on the near horizon. Therefore, it falls upon you, the student, to make informed and intelligent decisions about the wisest way to invest in your education. According to an article published by Money Crashers (2014), the College Board reported that “the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2012–2013 school year was $8,655 for state residents attending public colleges, $21,706 for out-of-state residents attending public universities, and $29,056 for students attending private colleges.”[27] The article points out that these figures do not include the also considerable expenses of housing, food, personal needs, transportation, campus services, and other incidentals related to campus life. Given that the tuition figures cited above will likely only continue to rise, defraying these costs could be a game-changer for many prospective students. Students studying exclusively through online colleges enjoy a university-level education without the traditional expenses associated with the college experience.[28] Some online courses also provide their own internal, web-based texts to students. This is perhaps more valuable than one may at first realize. The College Board reports that the average student actually spends an estimated $1,200 per year on books and supplies, a figure that reflects a meteoric 82 percent rate of inflation between just 2002 and 2013.[29] In fact, says an article by CNBC (2014), the cost of textbooks is so high that in a recent survey of roughly 2000 students from across 150 different campuses, 65 percent indicated that they had opted out of purchasing a required text because its cost was too great.[30] Online colleges present a far better alternative to simply opting out of crucial classroom material. To many critics of the academic publishing industry, the digital texts used routinely by online colleges point toward a far more equitable textbook market. Accordingly, consumer advocates have called for an expansion of the “open textbook” market, where faculty-composed and peer-reviewed materials are available freely online to students. CNBC reports that a number of major universities have invested in the development of open textbooks, but that uptake remains minimal.[31] Ultimately, though, this trend gives us cause for optimism that the approach taken by online colleges toward open and accessible digital course materials may actually have a positive and catalyzing impact on traditional education. The innovations that have been born by necessity through online education may actually lead to greater access and lower costs for students in brick-and-mortar classrooms.

Technical Skill Development

High speed Internet and mobile smartphone technology have permeated every aspect of our lives, from the modern workplace to our homes and recreation. From video-conferencing and instantaneous document transmission to telecommuting and global correspondence, web technologies are an absolutely essential part of nearly every business sector today. Those with the skills to harness these technologies will have a considerable advantage in the job market. As it happens, online education inherently requires you to master many of the technologies and skills that future employees will seek out. Even as you focus on the content of your online courses, you will naturally adapt to the technical demands that require you to attend live online lectures, access previously recorded media, incorporate research while using required materials, submit your own materials, independently manage your own working timetable, and coordinate with others through a number of web-mediated channels. All of these are skills that will make you a more valuable candidate to potential employers. An article in the U.S. News & World Report (2015) notes that community colleges are often on the cutting edge when it comes to online course offerings. This, the article notes, is at least partially attributable to the fact that the process for approving new courses at a two-year college is faster and less encumbered by bureaucratic hurdles. As a result, online community colleges have been particularly effective at incorporating rapidly evolving technological ideas, processes, and standards into course offerings.[32] To this end, according to U.S. News &World Report, Judy Baker, dean of online learning at San Jose’s Foothill College, observes that “employers in Silicon Valley seem to value the skills acquired in community college online courses just as much as in for-profit or four-year institutions…In some ways, community colleges are able to be more agile and responsive to quickly changing workforce training needs.”[33] The article notes that many of the highest-growth employment sectors for online college graduates are those in which web technologies have become an inextricable part of everyday work. This includes fields such as healthcare, energy systems, broadcasting, and marketing.[34] Students of online colleges often have regular contact and familiarity with technologies that the average student does not require. This may serve as a distinct advantage with employers who are seeking demonstrable experience with certain computer-mediated operations. This is also true for those professions that allow or even require some degree of telecommuting. The “modern workplace” is, in some ways, a figurative term that, like the web itself, transcends the boundaries of time and space. With a mobile phone in every employee’s pocket and wireless web access in most corners of the globe, the workplace is everywhere. For positions where travel is required, where working from home can help to offset small business costs, or where one must be accessible at all hours of the day, the skills gained through an online education will be directly applicable.

Early History

Though the focus of this guide is online education, the origins of this educational approach actually date quite a bit further back in history than the proliferation or even the invention of the Internet. In fact, online education falls under the larger umbrella concept of “distance education.” Distance education refers to the experience of receiving instruction as mediated by some mode of communication that transcends geographical space. According to a 2005 article in Distance Learning magazine, this educational strategy did begin with an innovation, but it wasn’t email. Long before the term “snail mail” had entered the popular vernacular, the innovation of standardized penny postage in the United Kingdom made distance education a reality. In 1840, English teacher Isaac Pitman put the Penny Post system to constructive use, offering shorthand writing instruction through mailed correspondence. What most differentiated Pitman’s approach from prior attempts at correspondence education was the educator’s own active feedback and assessment of completed work. This bilateral communication between remotely located educator and student would form the basis for distance education. In just three years, Pitman had parlayed his innovation into the Phonographic Correspondence Society and, thereafter, Sir Isaac Pitman’s Correspondence Colleges. Pitman’s approach gained ground with educators throughout Europe as the nineteenth century wore on. According to Distance Learning, the late 1800s saw the emergence of several leading distance education institutions, including Edinburgh’s Skerry’s College in 1878, London’s Correspondence College in 1887, and, in Sweden, the influential Hermod’s, which was officially established in 1898.[4] The strategy even gained ground in the United States before the turn of the century, with newly established institutions like the University of Chicago making correspondence education a major part of their educational arsenal as early as 1890.[5] Within the decade, major distance education institutions had emerged in Boston and eastern Pennsylvania as well.

Proliferation

As with online colleges today, early distance education was greeted with mixed feelings. According to Distance Learning, correspondence education “was designed to provide educational opportunities for those who were not among the economic elite and who could not afford full time residence at an educational institution. Many saw it as simply a business operation, and viewed this alternative as inferior education. Moreover, these distance opportunities extended education potential to the masses, an extreme departure from the undemocratic educational system that characterized the early years of U.S. history.” Distance Learning posits that in spite of the reservations of its critics, distance learning spread thanks to a cultural push for more equal educational access in the U.S. In a similar way, this account will demonstrate that online colleges today are very much affected by the same mixed bag of support and criticism that impacted distance education in its earliest incarnations. That is, the desire for equal educational access continues to collide with questions of quality assurance all across the online college industry. Another common feature of distance education throughout its history is that technological innovation has often been the force to spark its evolution. With the proliferation of radio in the earliest 20th century, a number of the first regularly broadcast programs incorporated educational instruction coming from universities and other places of learning. In many developing nations, call-in educational programs remain an important channel for teaching otherwise remote, isolated, or impoverished populations. By the late 1930s, television was beginning to supplant radio as the preferred medium for broadcast correspondence education. According to Distance Learning, in 1951 Cleveland’s Western Reserve University became the first school to offer college credit courses through television broadcast. New York University, which adopted the approach, offered “Sunrise Semester” courses through a partnership with CBS from 1957 to 1982.

Synchronous Distance Education

What most separates this earlier form of distance learning from its present online incarnation is asynchronicity. That is, traditional modes of distance learning have relied on correspondence with transmission inherently delayed or—to say it simply—out of sync. This means lapses of time necessarily interrupt the cycle of instruction, inquiry, response, assignment submission, assessment, and feedback. Though asynchronous distance learning historically overcame the physical limitations caused by spatial distances, the challenge of temporal lag or delay always limited its dynamism and appeal. The first attempts at overcoming this obstacle took the form of two-way audio communication between students and educator, not much different from a multiperson telephone conference. By the end of the 20th century, media such as open broadcast cable and “interactive instructional TV” (ITV) would combine this audio communication with video. This approach to televised live lecturing became increasingly popular during the 1980s and 1990s. Indeed, many early-adopting U.S. state governments employed ITV in order to establish statewide distance learning networks with considerable success. World Wide WebOf course, all of these innovations would merely set the virtual stage for what the web has made possible. In the mid-1990s, as household web usage became increasingly standard, its synchronous, multilateral education capabilities began coming into focus. The web had made the immediate transmission of video, audio, graphical, and compositional content considerably easier, more reliable, and more accessible. In 1996, Jones International University became the first online university in the United States to receive full accreditation, when it gained recognition through the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. By the start of the new millennium, online colleges moved from the educational fringe to center stage as one of the fastest-growing forms of education in circulation. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “from 2000 to 2008, the percentage of undergraduates enrolled in at least one distance education class expanded from 8 percent to 20 percent, and the percentage enrolled in a distance education degree program increased from 2 percent to 4 percent.

Prevalence Today

Today, online education occupies a place of great importance in the grander scheme of higher education. In spite of concerns over the business imperatives that sometimes drive this educational sector (an issue discussed at length throughout this account) and in spite of some early skepticism over the instructional quality distance education can achieve, it is now clear the benefits of online education far exceed its drawbacks. In an overview of distance learning, an associate professor and Director of Business Education from the University of West Georgia (2007) surmises that “Several changes have taken place in online education over the years. Online education has moved from a minor alternative role of ‘learning by correspondence’ to the center of life at most universities. The Internet has played a significant role in these changes because it has assisted instructors to more effectively respond to the limitations often cited regarding online education and it has been used to deliver instruction to students and employees at remote sites.”[12; references omitted] As the benefits have become self-evident, so too has the prevalence of the online college industry. Universities and private enterprises alike have substantially increased their investment in online colleges over the last decade or more and have, in turn, enjoyed broader enrollment capacity and greater revenues. Both by way of traditional universities and for-profit corporations, online colleges have become a largely entrenched dimension of America’s broader educational strategy. An article in EdTech Magazine (2012) offers a set of statistics illustrating not only that online colleges are an important part of education, but also that web-mediated distance learning has actually replaced the brick-and-mortar classroom experience for many students. For still other students, online education has forged and widened a previously non-existent learning space, one that makes higher education accessible to those who might otherwise remain disenfranchised.[14] According to EdTech Magazine, 65 percent of students consulted in 2012 had taken some online classes. A nearly identical 64 percent of full-time faculty at community colleges taught through some form of online distance education.[15] The Magazine goes on to report that 60 percent of four-year private schools and fully 90 percent of four-year public colleges offer online classes to their students. For two-year colleges, the number is 91 percent.[16] Also, as of 2012, 58 percent of all colleges and universities offered degrees for which every bit of coursework could be completed online.[17] Statistics also reflect a shared and growing perception among students, faculty, and college administrators that online education is an essential part of the future of education and that the increased accessibility and flexibility that it facilitates is improving educational opportunities in far-reaching and profound ways.

According to the world university rankings compiled by the Times Higher Education, more than half of the world’s top 200 universities are located in either the US or the UK. Both countries share a rich tradition of quality higher education, excellent research facilities, and a culture that promotes intellectualism as well as academic freedom. However, while both certainly provide an excellent environment for learning, there are many differences between the two countries regarding the structure of the university as well as student life. In this article, we will explore the primary differences between the American and British systems of education.

Length of Time

Perhaps the most important difference between the education system in the US, and the UK, is the amount of time it takes to finish your degree (except in Scotland, where a bachelor’s degree also lasts four years). In general, degree programs in the US take about one year longer than programs in the UK, although this varies depending upon whether you receive a Master’s degree prior to a PhD. In both systems, you can go directly to a PhD program out of your undergraduate program, but in the UK it is more common to complete a Master’s degree program before moving on to a PhD. Courses of study are shorter in the UK because the course programs are generally much more focused than in the US.

Academic Term

Most universities in the US begin their terms in mid to late August, although smaller liberal arts colleges may start later. Most take a rather lengthy break beginning in mid-December and begin the second semester in early to mid-January. However, universities that are on different calendars, such as a trimester or quarter-based system, may begin their winter break at the Thanksgiving holiday, which falls at the end of November. The academic term in the UK is a bit more varied. While most also use the semester system, the trimester and quarter systems are used in some universities. Many schools start in September or October and end in May or June, making for a slightly longer academic year. However, the academic term is less standardized throughout the United Kingdom; if you choose to study there, your university might use a much different calendar.

University Organization

Many universities in the UK are made up of “colleges” which are dedicated to a specific subject matter. While the colleges are still governed by the university, each college has quite a lot of autonomy from each other as well as the university itself. You live with others in your college, eat with others from your college, and generally stay within your college for the duration of your studies. Rather than applying to the central university admissions department, like you do in the US, you either apply directly to the college of the subject you want to study, or in the case of undergraduate programs, you apply through a centralized system which allows you to apply to several colleges at once. This system is called the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, or UCAS. This means that you have to know what you want to study before you even apply. By contrast, in the US, you apply to the larger university and for the first year or more, you take courses from a variety of fields and only declare a major at the end of the first year or perhaps even during the second year. American universities have different “schools,” or departments, such as the School of Arts and Sciences, which houses a number of related majors. However, even after you declare a major at an American university, you are still expected to take classes outside of that field, known as “electives.” For this reason, we can say that the general emphasis of higher education in the US is breadth, or getting a range of knowledge from a variety of different subjects. In the UK, the emphasis is more on depth; getting a very thorough understanding of your chosen subject.

Homework and Grades

Because the US system emphasizes breadth, courses require weekly or even biweekly readings as well as other assignments such as small writing projects, major research papers, and oral presentations throughout the course. In the UK, most schools are much more lecture-based, with only occasional assignments throughout the semester. In some cases, there may be no actual required assignments and instead your entire grade may be based on one final exam. In the US, your grade will be based on your performance on the variety of assignments, with a final exam making up only a percentage of your total grade.

Cost

The cost of education in both countries is far from cheap, but the cost of an education in the United States is generally higher. According to a law passed in 2012, universities in England may charge up to £9000 (approximately $14,300) per year. Of course, this applies only to citizens of the UK and the EU, not international students. Fees for international students can be significantly higher. The government sets the limits for tuition fees, and each individual school sets its own fee up to that limit. By contrast, the government has very little control over what universities charge in the United States. The US differentiates between in-state tuition fees and out-of-state tuition fees, as well as between private and public universities. These distinctions determine the tuition fee. The average tuition fee for public two-year institutions is around $3000 per year, while the average fee for private four-year institutions is around $29,000 per year. Finally, some private four-year institutions can cost up to $50,000 per year. In order to help students cover the cost of tuition in both countries, loans are available through the government with favorable terms and interest rates. Visit our Financial Aid Center for more information about financing your education in the US, and our Financial Aid for the UK section to learn more about funding an education in the UK.

Accommodation

Both countries provide students with residence halls in which to live. They are roughly equivalent, although in the UK it is more normal to have a bedroom by yourself, whereas in the US, you may very well share a bedroom with at least one other person. However, after the first year, students in the US may have additional housing options available to them, such as private housing or off-campus housing. It is also more common for dormitories to be self-catered in the UK, while the US normally provides a range of full dining options for its students. One potentially significant difference is that maid service is common in the residence halls in the UK, although students pay a nominal fee for this service.

Conclusion

While both countries provide a great education, each system approaches education slightly differently, and there are advantages and disadvantages to each. If you are considering getting your education in either the US or the UK, you should take into consideration the various differences mentioned in this article, especially the amount of time it takes to finish the degree, the tuition fees and whether you prefer more depth or more breadth in your degree program.

The Pro Education

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