Growing demand for a university education has been accompanied by a growth in the number of available online degree programs. One element of the link in the growth between the two is financial. An online education has many advantages. Two of the most cited ones are the ability to pursue an online university degree at the ability to follow the course both at any time and any location that is most convenient for the student. Another element which is also talked about is the relative cost of attending a given university to the cost of selecting one of the many online degree programs available.
This applies primarily to the United States of America, but a growing number of university students are receiving financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, and loans. This is linked to the historical rise in higher education costs.. Things such as grants for college have increased access to university. Such aid is not necessarily as good a thing as it might seem. Very little financial aid is provided for online college classes, if any at all. This is due to how much lower the costs in relation to classes on a physical campus.
Another financial consideration is the cost of university accommodation with the accompanying transportation costs. If one does not have to pay rent, one will require to commute to the educational institution.
One must not forget that not only is an online education substantially cheaper than the alternative, but many places offer free online college classes. Two of the high-profile examples are MIT through OpenCourseWare and the Bill Gates-endorsed Khan Academy. Some say that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but and online education is often cheaper, and in some instances, free.