Global Education Online Makes Getting Your Degree Easier!
Colleges and universities offering classes and degrees online lack national borders as much as they're void of walls. And as more and more international students enroll in universities and colleges online and otherwise, educators are increasingly addressing what's known as "global" education. With this absence of limitations, a distance learning degree is open to everyone.
Colleges and universities throughout the United States in 2008-2009 reported a record high of nearly 672,000 international student enrollments, according to an annual Open Doors survey from the Washington, D.C.-based Institute of International Education. The majority of these students came from India, China and South Korea, and most were studying business and management and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects, the Institute reported.
A preliminary "snapshot" Institute survey for 2009-2010 has so far produced mixed reports on international enrollment, according to Open Doors surveyors. But the Chronicle of Higher Education has nevertheless contended that about 3 million study abroad students throughout the world in 2009 is anticipated to rise to 8 million by 2025. Ben Wildavsky, author of "The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities are Reshaping the World", reportedly told Inside Higher Education that he views the competitive higher education marketplace as a "free trade in minds" and "a chance for greater intellectual exchange, collaboration, and innovation".
International students and their families, largely as a result of tuition, also contribute more than $13 billion a year to the American economy, according to the Institute for International Education. Educators gathered at a spring Going Global conference in London noted that students tend to begin their school searches with guidance from family and friends, a Chronicle of Higher Education article noted. College searches also involve varied methods, with Latin American students referring to publications, African and Middle Eastern undergraduates seeking advice from professors and graduate students researching quality programs with good reputations that are best suited to their career goals, the Chronicle report stated.
Many reportedly share common desires for fast responses to their inquiries and applications. Going Global speakers citing a wide array of higher education choices reportedly cautioned against treating international students as "cash cows" and recommended instead that colleges and universities focus on giving them something for their money.
Already, American colleges and universities maintain the largest share of top researchers and Nobel winners, Wildavsky told Inside Higher Education. The United States currently also draws a majority of top international students, he reportedly noted. With regard to colleges' online offerings specifically, America is the worldwide leader in reputation, accessibility and acceptance, according to a University Business report.
International students pursuing American college degrees online or simply taking classes through colleges online don't have to travel far or obtain passports, visas, I-20 forms or I-94 cards. Online college tuition in America in many instances reportedly costs the same for foreign students as it does their domestic counterparts. And with colleges online, international students needn't be concerned with issues such as post-9/11 precautions and the H1N1 virus. A consulting firm known as Hobsons, however, advises international students enrolling in classes offered by American colleges online or pursuing American degrees online to seek out accredited institutions, interactive programs and flexible course formats that allow for tending to other responsibilities.
At least one American university as early as 2001 reportedly made it a requirement for undergraduates to take college classes online. The goal, in part is to provide students with global perspectives from worldwide scholars and practitioners with whom the institution partners, the Sloan Consortium reported. As of spring 2004, the school's Global Virtual Faculty Program involved nearly 50 scholars and practitioners from 23 countries who were working with about 900 students, according to the Consortium.
At least one American university as early as 2001 reportedly made it a requirement for undergraduates to take degree programs online. The goal, in part is to provide students with global perspectives through online distance learning from worldwide scholars and practitioners with whom the institution partners, the Sloan Consortium reported. As of spring 2004, the school's Global Virtual Faculty Program involved nearly 50 scholars and practitioners from 23 countries who were working with about 900 students, according to the Consortium.
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