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!