When I was in college, online education was still fairly new and not as well respected as a traditional education.  However, the education industry was in transition, and my traditional four-year college — the Metropolitan State College of Denver — offered quite a few classes online.

All in all, I think I took about 25 percent of my classes online while pursuing my bachelor’s degree.  I would have taken more had they offered more that fit in with my degree!  I loved the advantages of an online class — fewer time and scheduling constraints, less time wasted in class, less gas and time spent commuting, etc.  With online classes you definitely have to be more self-motivated and you have to be good at learning on your own, but I am very much an independent learner so the format was really good for me.

While some traditional colleges are starting to offer degree programs that are 100 percent online, most fully online degree programs are offered by schools that specialize in that kind of thing.  Therein lies the problem: These schools are frequently accredited by different accreditation agencies than traditional schools, so they are perceived as being held to different standards than traditional colleges.  However, as long as you are aware of the potential programs and you choose your school based on reputation and quality of education, an online degree should serve you just as well as a traditional degree.

As online education becomes more popular, there are more choices available.  These days you can get everything from an IT degree online to a health care management degree online.  The variety of options and the increasing popularity of online education is bound to make it a more accepted option in the years to come.

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