Ask representatives from any online program to explain why students should choose their school and the word “convenient” is certain to be mentioned. Many administrators equate online learning with convenience. They’ve saved students the trouble of driving to campus – Job Done! Turns out, there is a little more to being convenient than simply being online.
The idea that an online college is convenient just because classes are available online isn’t necessarily wrong. Many students choose to study online specifically because the structure is less restrictive than in-person classes. But there are many ways that online colleges can adjust their programs to better fit the lives of their students. Addressing these areas makes the school more convenient and more attractive to busy online students. The result? More enrollments and more completions.
The majority of online college students, choose online learning because it fits their current work/life responsibilities. These responsibilities are numerous and time consuming. According to the Online College Students Report 2019 from Aslanian Market Research, 71% of online college students attend school full time. This is despite the fact that 59% of students already work full time.
That means that many, if not most, of your students are both working full time and studying full time. According to U.S. Department of Education guidelines, a typical full-time student must spend about 30 hours per week to meet the demands of their studies. Added together, many students spend 70 hours or more per week on work and school.
Somewhere in all this, they also need to manage their personal lives. According to the study, 41% of students have at least one child under the age of 18. About 44% are married or partnered.
Convenience is clearly a major consideration for these prospective students. In fact, one-third of students said they were willing to pay higher tuition for a program that was more convenient.
Offering online classes is just the beginning when it comes to creating convenient programs. To be truly convenient, a program must be flexible enough to fit around the student’s existing responsibilities.
When evaluating the convenience of your online college, consider two areas in no particular order.
Both are vital. Introducing convenience in both areas will attract more students to your online college and help more of them achieve completion.
Here are three ways you can make enrolling at your college more convenient for students.
When you address all of these factors, you create a program that is truly convenient for online learners. The more convenient your program is, the more attractive it becomes for students balancing the demands of family, work and school.
Here are four ways you can make your online classes more convenient for the students enrolled in your programs:
For more insight into the needs of online college students, download the Online College Students 2019 Report from Aslanian Market Research, a Division of EducationDynamics. This yearly study explores what, why, and how online students study and measures impacts and trends in online learning.