Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

With the cost of gas today forcing more and more people to cut down their traveling, the Internet is becoming popular as a place for people to shop, communicate, work and meet with others, without having to travel.

 

And as gas prices continue to climb, people are also turning to the Web for their education.

 

Degree.com, offering online degree programs and distance learning education, has announced a 38 percent increase in visitors during April-May 2008 in comparison to February-March 2008.

 

E-Learning, or electronic learning, provides an Internet-enabled learning environment for training and education needs and can be used for just-in-time information.

"Gas is costing people upwards of $1000 a month," said Sheila Danzig, who runs the Degree.com site.

 

"And students are the last group who can afford that. Taking classes at home and other distance learning options allow students to avoid spending limited funds on gas and to have more time for a part-time job that helps pay the tuition bill. For the adult learner, online degree programs provide a perfect answer to a scarcity of time and resources, particularly for those who also work and have a family."

 

To further validate this claim, the company took an informal survey from their site visitors and found that the number one reason they were interested in an online degree was "higher gas prices" When they conducted the same survey in 2007, the number one reason was sited as being "convenience" with gas prices not even mentioned in the top five reasons.

In response to the increased interest in online higher education, Degree.com has also announced a new blog for comments and questions from those exploring Internet-based College and university programs.