Over the past 10 years, we have seen many changes within the online educational community. Competition have increased has increased significantly with many traditional universities entering the market by offering online versions of their on-campus programs. In addition, the general cost of education has escalated due to the effects of inflation and technological advancements. Online universities have had to include marketing departments in their operations to seek out new markets to maintain their market share and most naturally, these expanses are transferred to the pockets of students.

The cost of online education is also influenced by the popularity on the university. As online universities become more experienced in the art of online education, they are able to improve their product. This will in turn increase their influence on the market as students who desire the best level of education flock to these online universities that have the most influence within the business sector.

Changes in Student Budget over the Years

To gain a better understanding of the changes in student budgets we can compare cost of online tuition from 1999 compared to that of 2009. On average, in 1999 that cost of online degree programs stood at around $10,000 for public institutions and $20,000 for private institutions. During that time, online universities were not fully accepted within the business communities as online universities were still going through growing pains and not all had the relevant accreditation from the various boards.

Jump 10 years to 2009, online universities now form a vital part of the educational landscape. Many employers are now encouraging their employees to take advantage of online universities as they can improve their qualifications without disrupting their work schedule. As a result, the forces of supply and demand kick in as the increase in demand results in individuals willing to pay more for their education. Statistics show that currently in the year 2009, online students will have to fork out tuitions fees averaging $30,000 for public online institution and $45-50,000 for private institutions. This shows an average of a 50 to 60% increase in ten years.

If we conduct a more in-depth study based on the types of online degree programs, we see an even more disturbing trend. The cost of bachelor’s degree stick to the average trends of 50 t 60% but graduate programs see an increase of 102% over the past ten years. This is due to the significant increase in demand for postgraduate degree programs by working professionals. These individuals have to increase their educational arsenal to remain competitive against younger and more technologically advanced kids leaving high school. The fact that they can study without disrupting their work patterns has proven to be a hit among this target group. Another factor that affected the cost of postgraduate programs is that some online universities factored the improved salaries that graduates gain after the completion of a postgraduate degree program. Thus, they decided that these students would be prepared to pay for these opportunities.