Distance education enrollment up 20%

Online classes help jobless, reduce need for buildings

Enrollment in distance education courses through UNC system campuses shot up more than 20 percent in 2008. The jump points in part to the desperation of out-of-work people looking to shift careers and make themselves more marketable.

More than 22,000 UNC system students stayed off campus entirely last year, taking courses either at satellite sites or over the Internet. They are a relatively small but rapidly growing piece of the UNC system's overall student pool, which topped 215,000 in 2008.

The UNC system's Board of Governors will review the trend today as part of an annual enrollment report.

While many of these students are North Carolinians, others live around the country and beyond. They shop around, compare tuition rates and look for specific programs that suit their needs. For a student with Internet access, college can be anywhere.

Take Rodney Thacker, who as an N.C. State student never hung out at the Brickyard, wandered the halls of D.H. Hill Library or cheered on the Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Instead, he worked days at a food plant in his hometown of Martinsville, Va. He then worked well into the night at his computer, pecking away at a food safety certification course through NCSU's online education division.

"I guess I'm kind of unusual," he said. "I can be up late at night and still be here at work at 7."

He recently concluded the 18-month program, which led to a promotion and pay increase. Thacker didn't care that he never stepped foot on the NCSU campus.

At 54, Thacker represents a growing population of midcareer professionals using distance education to better themselves. Of the UNC system's 22,000 students who chose the distance education route last year, more than 60 percent are 25 or older. Some want to change fields; others are out of work and desperate for new expertise. Many need flexibility.

"We're finding a receptive audience out there," said Alan Mabe, the UNC system's vice president for academic planning and university-school programs. "For a lot of people, it's the only way to complete a degree."

While university officials can't say how many new students this year enrolled after losing a job, the numbers suggest the economy is a factor. At NCSU, for example, an undergraduate certificate course in computer programming -- popular among folks with bachelor's degrees who see a bright future in tech fields -- is in high demand right now, officials there say.

The term "distance education" encompasses both online courses and those taught by the university faculty at satellite sites across North Carolina and, occasionally, in other states.

Over the last few years, the UNC system has increasingly seen online education as the best way to deal with increasing demand from traditional students and midcareer workers such as Thacker. In 2007, it introduced the University of North Carolina Online, a one-stop Web site offering at least 130 degree, licensure and certificate programs at public universities.

It is largely an economic strategy. It would be nearly impossible, public education officials say, to construct enough buildings to fill demand.

"There just isn't room," said Rebecca Swanson, NCSU's associate vice provost for distance education.

Across North Carolina, public and private colleges alike are ramping up distance education, which brings in revenue and allows institutions to carve out niches.

NCSU has popular, growing online teacher education and engineering programs, for example. UNC-CH offers a range from nursing and public health graduate programs to a popular program that sends university instructors into prisons for face-to-face instruction.

At UNC-CH, distance-education enrollment is up 24 percent this year, said Norman Loewenthal, who directs the program. Most of UNC-CH's online students are from North Carolina. But in 2008, the university taught at least two students from each of 49 states (missing North Dakota), according to university data.

Universities advertise online programs heavily and offer competitive pricing. Distance education uses a student-as-customer model, with universities tailoring new programs and retooling existing ones to suit the market.

There is plenty of choice.

Russell Diggs of Raleigh first considered an online program through East Carolina University, but its traditional semester schedule didn't fit his schedule. He found what he wanted at Southern New Hampshire University, and he has spent two years working online toward an associate's degree in liberal studies.

"You have to be consumer-minded these days," said Diggs, 46, who was recently laid off from his job producing safety education videos. "You definitely have to shop around."