We see more and more students are enrolling in online courses these days than going for traditional courses.
The rise in its preferability is mainly because of its ease and convenience. The flexibility of online education (i.e. anytime anywhere, any pace) allows students to plan to work and continue their higher education simultaneously with ease.
Online education come in two major forms – one that is for credit courses where students enroll themselves mainly for credits and the second type is for professional training and certification preparations where the purpose is to prepare students for certification exams. In terms of popularity, at this moment the second type of online courses are a little ahead because students mainly prefer to work as well as study alongside to develop their skills.
Even though the rise in the trend of online education is catching up across the world, there are just few countries which have completely stormed in this area. These top countries who are also the leaders of online education have a complete pack in the world of online education. Hence they have soon become a role model for the other countries who too wish to be in the same league.
Countries Leading the Chart of Online Education
1. The United States
US is known for its quality education system and even in the online education as well, this country is an undisputed leader. Most of its prestigious Universities such as- Boston University, University of Florida, Arizona State University, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Pennsylvania State University and many others offer distance learning programs. US open educational programs like those offered at MIT is very influential in nature.
In a survey conducted by the Sloan Consortium, it was found that about 6 million students have enrolled into at least one online course and one third of them are in the higher education. Enrolments in online courses are actually outpacing those of higher education as a whole. This the reason, that online courses have already started to outpace those of higher education in US. And such is a trend which is fast catching up in other developing nations because they too have realized the benefits of providing online course programs.
2. India
India is one of the potential players in raising the level of online learning opportunities throughout Asia. Over the past few decades, India has developed top-notch Universities and Colleges that are offering Asia’s best online programs.
Economic concerns is one of the major catalyst that has led to the growth of this type of course learning as many In India cannot afford to take two or more years to pursue traditional college programs. Home based schools are doing very well. Schools and Colleges are also generating many revenues as well as strengthening their roots. In addition, international institutes are also offering remote learning through internet and making Indian citizens empowered with quality education.
3. China
Home to about 70 different online colleges, China is again a leading country offering online learning opportunities that are in high demand. The country is working on strengthening internet access in rural areas so that the progress of online education in their country gets a boost.
Intervention of several major online education companies will help China to meet high demand for highly trained members of the global workforce which comes from China.
4. South Korea
E-Learning opportunities in South Korea are commendable and leading the pack. The nation’s strong as well as growing high-tech industry and strengthened high-speed internet access has led to the success of e-learning in this country. It has about 17 online colleges and all of them boost the state-of-the-art facilities and software.
Right now in order to progress further in the area of online learning, it is using its vast resources to not only teach Korean students but other countries around the world by offering more courses in English and also promoting their ability to deliver what they are calling ‘smart learning.’
5. United Kingdom
Online Education in the UK has been there for quite some time now but since 2011 it just stormed. The Governments initiative through investments in this area had led to the drastic growth. They mainly want their nation to build its brand, develop better online educational resources and become a key player in the distance learning market.
Online education is cost efficient and its rise in the UK has also helped it resolve students from losing interest in pursuing higher education due to high tuition cost. The UK’s Open Universities are mostly helping to lead the charge in online education. But with its rising demand, probably the other public institutions would also start providing successful and accessible online programs to students.
Now having learned about the top five countries that are the leaders of online education, it’s interesting to see who would be the next to succeed the chart. With down pouring of huge investments to make education both affordable and accessible across the world, it is clear the demand for online education is expected to increase further. So what do you think about it and to share your views on the same, you have just got to write it to us through your comments.
