When people think of online colleges, they think that they will be self-taught just like the old correspondences courses from the pre-internet age. This is far from the truth. The majority of online colleges require you to log online at least three times a week to participate in classroom discussion or lectures. They also have you participate in the threaded email discussion about the current subject being taught.

Convenience Advantage

The biggest reason that college students want to take online classes is that it is more convenient. You can log in anytime that you want during the day. Even when you are required to log on three times a week, you pick the time of day. If your job entails a lot of travel, what better way to kill time at an airport? You can advance your education while waiting for the plane or in the

hotel room at night. Yes, the convenience advantage.

The Variety Advantage

There are a variety of courses that you can take online. This is another big reason that online colleges are so popular. You can take business programs, criminal justice, computer programming, electronics, biomedical, healthcare, art, fashion and hundreds of other programs. Associate degrees, Bachelor degrees, Master degrees, and Doctorates are all available online. With this Variety Advantage you can decide on the program that best fits your interest and that will help you with your career.

The Accreditation Advantage

Accreditation is a big factor when choosing an online college. Look for colleges that are either, Regionally Accredited or Nationally Accredited. The reason for this is that these colleges are guided and controlled by an Accreditation Commission. This means that they must follow strict guidelines for education and student funding. If they don't follow the guidelines of Accreditation they can be in jeopardy of closing programs at the colleges or possibly losing government funding for their students.

The Networking Advantage

Ever heard of Networking for jobs? This is the perfect place to do it. Why, you ask? Many companies have their employees take online classes to improve their skill levels. Most online classes have between 20-30 people in each class. That is 20-30 possible Networking opportunities for jobs. Each new class you take will open more opportunities. Find out where these people work and found out if the have any employment openings.

The Time Advantage

Online classes last between 5-8 weeks and most are accelerated programs. This is great if you want to get your degree very quickly. There are military personnel overseas that are taking online classes so that when they get out, they already have their degree. Some MBA programs are less than 18 months.

As you can see there are many advantages to taking classes at an online college. Do you think you can use more education for that next phase of your life?