Online Education Benefits

Education Connection

A young woman, around the age of 24, is the sole provider and care taker of her two year old son. She has completed some college, but because of the pregnancy, and subsequent single parent status, she has yet to obtain a degree. Having to work full time to support her child, she has little to no time left to go into a regular classroom and complete school. Yet, in this day and age a Bachelor’s Degree is the minimum requirement to begin a meaningful career. So how is this woman supposed to be able to progress in life, if her achievements are halted due to lack of availability? This is the problem that many people, young and old, face right in our backyard. Working people, stuck in the same job, not able to go back and get a degree unless they work around a school schedule, seemingly impossible for many single parents. With unemployment rates in Illinois at a staggering 9.8 %, every person should have the right to get the education needed to make sure that they have the ability to get the job they desire. (Dept. of Labor) At Oakton, they have tried to accommodate such people with making online classes available in almost every subject, and having a variety of class options. This however is still not enough. Since the availability is limited and there is no clear cut curriculum, it’s as if online students at Oakton blindly decide which classes to take. Classes are geared towards general education classes, with a limited selection is for any specialized areas. There also, is no bridge to an accredited local University through Oakton that allows a person to gain a Bachelor’s degree in a strictly online fashion. If Oakton would increase the amount of Online classes available, as well as work with other Universities to establish the basis of an online degree, then more working people would be able to get a Bachelors degree.

As a country, we are in the midst of a horrible recession. An enormous factor in the national debt lies in the fact that many people are without work. This is because many companies are downsizing, closing and all together not able to pay unqualified less educated people to work for their companies anymore. This gives job candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree, on average, a 9% higher full-time employment rate than those with just a high school degree, and a 6% higher full-time employment rate than those with just some college. (Dept. of Commerce, 3) It’s also shown that people with a Bachelor’s Degree on average make about $13,000 more annually than people with just high school diplomas and $7000 more annually than people with just some college (3). Without the availability of the option at Oakton, as well as at partnering Universities, it becomes nearly impossible to acquire this degree for residents of our area. Thus leading to a higher unemployment rate in the state of Illinois and an increased debt amongst its citizens.

In order to make a solution