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Considering the fact that about 90% of distance learners are people who are employed, making the boss pay for online education is the best way to go about acquiring your degree. Now the question arises - why should your boss or company pay for your education? Well, in plain words, because YOUR education would be directly beneficial for THEM.

Even though most of the companies are now happy to pay for their employees’ education, some organizations are still a bit hesitant. But this in no way means you should not approach your boss with this subject. All that is needed is a good strategy where you make the company realize that you are actually doing THEM a favor by studying! The basic thing here is to make your organization recognize your worth and how acquiring higher education would help them.

Here are certain tips on how you should go about convincing your boss to pay for your online education:

1. Make Commitments and Oblige To Serve the Company
Organizations do not usually ask employee’s to return the money spent on their education. BUT what they ask is commitment to work for a fixed period of time after the acquisition of online degree. Also, what you need to know is that your organization will NEVER pay for a degree which is not related to your current job or the promotion you expect to acquire.
If you are working in an IT based organization, DO NOT expect that they will pay for a degree in art history!!

2. Make Your Company Realize That YOUR Education Will Give Them A Competitive-Edge
An educated work-force is the competitive edge organizations need over each other. Good business is only achievable through well-educated employees, which is the main point you should raise while talking to your boss about tuition reimbursement.

More than anything, the acquisition of a degree would be valuable for the growth of your organization (though it would help you in the long run even after you switch your workplace…but hush… don’t mention that!!).

3. Sell Yourself and Your Expertise
 This might be hard, but not impossible. You need to make the organization realize your capabilities and requirement in the workforce. Discuss all the contributions you have made to the company, and how acquiring further education would enable you to contribute even more. You can always explain how the acquisition of information about latest trends and new skills can bring in more profit for the company.

4. Tell Them Why You Chose Online Education
You need to assure your boss that fitting online education into your professional life would not affect your output at work. Convince your boss by telling him that online degree programs at all online degree levels are flexible so you will not be taking time off from work to study!

5. Show Dedication – Sign a Contract!
Your organization might ask you to sign a tuition reimbursement contract before they allot a loan or grant for acquiring an online degree. Though this seems like a fair deal, you should steer clear from making nearly impossible deals. You also need to be clear about how the organization would pay for your education as some organizations pay in whole while others deduct it from your paycheck and then pay you back later on.

All in all, what you need to do is make your boss realize your value in the company and how you can put in more at work with higher education…it might be easier to get your boss pay for an online degree than you realize.

Online education is the IN thing these days and the number of students opting for distance learning has doubled over the years. Studying in a traditional college is getting expensive and now with gas prices increasing day by day and dropping job markets, online education looks even more desirable to students across the world.

Acquiring online degrees is convenient for students belonging to all ages, professions and backgrounds because of their flexibility and ease of study and the sudden increase in gas prices has added another benefit to studying online. People who cannot afford to leave their jobs but want to study further and gain higher education for better career prospects, online education is the best!

Online education does not require any campus visits, which means saving all the money that was to be spent on commuting. For potential regular graduate students, the thought of going back to college, that too when economy is slow is horrifying and the rising gas prices are just about forcing them to turn to the internet to continue their education.

Research shows that about 15 million college students across the country, which make up for about 79 percent of the student body, reside off campus. Most of these students are now looking to cut down on their commuting costs by enrolling in online colleges and universities, as gas prices have risen above $4. “If gas prices continue their meteoric rise and people face through-the-roof heating costs this fall and winter, the already explosive growth in online learning could get another big boost,” said Dr. Kenneth Hartman, academic director of Drexel University Online. There are reports from colleges across Massachusetts and Florida to Texas to Oregon of increased enrollments in online degree programs for summer sessions. In the reports, there are colleges in which online enrollments this year are 50 to 100 percent higher than the previous year, all due to a horrendous increase in fuel prices that has lead to an increase in bus and air fares which has made it harder for students to attend regular college.

This increase might not be shocking for some four-year institutions which offer extensive online degree programs, for example the University of Massachusetts, University of Phoenix etc. as they have previously seen such increases. As compared to them, two-year community colleges are facing the largest surge of online enrollments this year, while previously most of their students commuted to the campus, now they have turned to online education as they cannot afford to pay much for transportation. For example, online enrollments rose by 114% this summer at Bristol Community College in Fall River, Mass. The reasons cited by students for taking on online education were increasing gas costs and other transportation problems.

Online enrollments have been steadily growing through the years, but the sudden increase in gas prices has added another element as to why students should consider going online for their education. With the wonders of online education students no longer have to dread getting up in the morning and worry about extra expenses over gas, when the same money can be spent on groceries and other necessities of life!

In today’s world with horrendous price hike and high competition, the cost of education is simply terrifying for potential students who aspire to pursue a course or a degree to advance their education and move forward in their careers. This is one of the most prevalent reasons why people are giving up education and getting to work at an early age.

People believe that there are better things to spend their money on rather than wasting money and time both on education. But, this is where they are wrong. Nothing can be more important than education and qualifications of an individual as they are the only personal asset s/he owns. This is one of the reasons why some online colleges and universities have started offering free online courses at a basic or starter level for people who would be interested in furthering their education to lure them back to learning.

With the onset of distance learning, online education and online degrees, things have changed a lot. Gone are the days when studying cost an arm and a leg. Now, universities offer courses in various online degree subjects which are totally free!! Even though a free online course might just be basic, but something definitely is better than nothing and it might be just the think you need for a career boost!!

Presented are some of the colleges and universities offering free online courses:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT is the best option for all those looking out for free courses. Through the OpenCourseWare project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers nearly 1800 free courses!! Access is granted to students all across the world.

2. Open University

Open University is the largest academic institution in UK. The OpenLearn website of Open University provides access to under-graduate and graduate level course material on topics like arts, history, business, education, IT and computing, mathematics and statistics, science, health and technology.

3. Carnegie Mellon University

This university offers numerous free online courses as well as course materials through its Open Learning Initiative Program. Online courses are offered by Carnegie Mellon University in subjects like statistics, biology, chemistry, economics, French and physics.

4. Tufts University

Tufts University, like MIT offers an OpenCourseWare project which can be accessed by students from across the world. Courses offered by Tufts University are categorized by Schools and present lectures, course material, projects etc.

5. Stanford University

Being one of the world’s leading academic institutions, Stanford University has joined in with iTunesU to provide free online courses, lectures and interviews. The courses can be downloaded to be studied at students’ convenience.

6. University of California, Berkeley

UC Berkeley has been offering webcasts of certain courses since 2001. The University of California, Berkeley offers hundreds of courses as podcasts and webcasts on subjects like astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer programming, engineering, psychology, legal studies and philosophy.

7. Utah State University

Utah State University provides free online courses in various fields including anthropology, physics, theatre arts etc. Online courses offered by Utah State University can be downloaded or even viewed online.

8. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

The largest collection of free online business courses is offered by Kutztown University’s Small Business Development Center. Courses are offered by Kutztown University of Pennsylvania on subjects like accounting, finance, government, business law, marketing and sales. Text, interactive case studies, presentations, graphics and streaming audio are presented to demonstrate the ideas presented in each course.

9. University of Southern Queensland

Based in Australia, the University of Southern Queensland also offers free online courses for people across the world through its OpenCourseWare project. Course topics include communication, science, career planning, technology, teaching and multimedia creation.

10. University of California, Irvine

This university recently joined the OCW Consortium and began providing university level courses online. Not many free online courses are available at the moment, but the list is growing. The current subjects offered at University of California, Irvine include financial planning, human resources, capital markets and e-marketing. Course material comes in the form of programs, lectures, notes, projects and exams.

Hope you benefit from these free online courses and get a head start on your career…its never too late for education!! Do let us know how your online learning experience was.