Are These Three Myths Holding You Back from Starting an Online Degree?
We’re living in a digital world.
You can stream conferences and workshops, consult doctors, listen to almost any musical album in the world, and have your groceries delivered straight to your doorstep from online platforms. Why not pursue higher education digitally?
Granted, with the slew of information and choices generated online, it’s important to delineate what is true and what is completely falsified. That’s all the more reason to embrace qualified higher education via the online environment.
Choosing the right online degree program can help you achieve your personal and career goals more affordably and flexibly, no doubt. It also can provide a secure environment to learn how to navigate the world, your values, and your goals through the lens of an unfolding digital revolution.
It’s only a matter of time before online education becomes less of a novelty and more of a reality. Before you dismiss earning an online degree, here are the top three myths we’re busing about online education:
Myth Number One: Real Colleges Don’t Teach Online
Actually, if your college doesn’t incorporate any sort of online offering in their scholastic catalog, it may be time to look elsewhere. Quite frankly, any institution that isn’t up to par with the latest technological innovations is likely not worth its weight in tuition gold.
Universities willing to adapt to the times, with integrity, may very well be the universities that best develop world changers.
Over the last decade or so, higher education institutions have taken the leap into online learning for its students.
At Regent, there are more than 130 areas of study, with an online student base of nearly 10,000 learners. To top it off, Regent ranked at the top of the list in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Online Bachelor’s Programs in Virginia for 2019.
Myth Number Two: I Won’t Be Able to Connect with My Classmates or Professors
Though in an online learning environment you’re not physically present in the classroom, you’ll connect with your classmates and professors in new and exciting ways.
First, as an online learner, you’ll be exposed to a diverse group of students who have a breadth of experience and life stories. In a traditional classroom, you’d only be able to hear the thoughts and opinions of people who had the time and advantage of traveling to school.
By choosing an online school with a diverse student population, you’ll have the chance to connect with people and their perspectives from all over the world. As you read and respond to online discussion posts, you’ll be able to understand a topic from more perspectives than you ever thought possible.
Further, professors of online courses should be trained in leading these broad discussions. The exchanges they have with you and your work online will bring about an entirely new way of thinking on the subject matter you’re studying.
Myth Number Three: I Don’t Have the Technological Skills to Make an Online Degree Work
We totally hear you! Starting an online program can feel intimidating at first. But, all you really need to begin is a desktop or laptop computer and a connection to the internet to get started. Thousands of students just like you have worked through those initial uncertainties and are thriving in their online environment!
Just make sure you do your homework on the schools you’re considering to make sure they have resources to support you. For example, Regent University has an entire team dedicated to making sure you have all the tools you need – online and offline – to be a successful student.
They even have a Center for Student Happiness with success coaches to guide you and a help desk to provide online tech support.
When you’re plugged into the free resources around you, it can give you confidence that you’ll have precisely what you need to grow and learn. In the end, make your degree worthwhile.
Pursuing an online education is the perfect way to fold earning a degree into your ever-busy and ever-connected world. And the best part is? If you’re having “one of those days,” you can do it all while you’re in your pajamas!