NOSCA: National Office for School Counselor Advocacy. Growing number of college students choose online courses. For students focused more on earning a degree amid competing demands than on enjoying the camaraderie of campus life, online higher education has become an increasingly popular option.
Colleges and universities around the country have been adding programs and classes to their online rosters, opening university doors to many students who don't have the time or flexibility to commit to a traditional class schedule. More than 6 million students -- nearly a third of total enrollment at degree-granting postsecondary institutions --were taking at least one online course in 2010, the most recent year available in a 2011 study by the Babson Survey Research Group at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. That's an increase of 560,000 students over the prior year.