Gas prices cause rise in online course registration

FLINT (WJRT) -- (06/18/08)--Prices at the pump are causing college students to take a different approach to learning. Registration for online classes is soaring as fast as prices at the pump.

It's great to get the whole college campus experience by the looks of things at University of Michigan-Flint and a lot of other places.

But that experience is apparently not worth the current price of gas.

At U of M-Flint, to get to class, you've got to use gas. No one lives on campus yet. And some students aren't coming to campus, period.

Enrollment for online courses is soaring.

"From 2005 to 2007 they increase 42 percent," said Director of Distance Learning Deborah White.

You'd think the university would advertise the online course in light of gas prices, but White says the university is "not able to advertise because we can't meet the demand right now."

Sixty percent of the fall online course are already full.

"Overall we'll have 400 to 500 students on the waiting list for a course opening," White said.

Theresa Stevens isn't worried about not getting in online. She got the classes she needed and finished, earning a masters in business administration.

And she did it all while raising young kids and working full time.

"I earned my degree in the 18 months I was supposed to earn my degree," she said.

And she was able to keep a chunk of money in her pocket during that 18 months.

"The saving on gas was tremendous," she said. "I didn't have to take the kids to day care or anything like that. I was able to do it all in the convenience of my home."

Here's a few things about the online education: The courses are not necessarily cheaper. In fact, they cost more at U of M-Flint. But you'd probably still save in the long run with gas so high.

And classes are not easier, either. You just have to resister early because more and more people are jumping on the gas-free degree train.

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