Individuals can bank online. They can shop online. They can connect with friends, families and jobs online. They can also go to school online, and a growing number of people are getting their education behind a computer instead of in a classroom.

The Sloan Consortium study, “Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009” found more students than ever are taking college and university courses online. The seventh annual survey of online learning development, released in February, is based on responses from 2,500 colleges and universities.

The study reported:

• More than 4.6 million students enrolled in at least one online distance course in 2008, marking a 17 percent increase over the previous year.

• More than one quarter of all higher education students now take at least one online course accredited by a legitimate college or university, and many more obtain their entire education without ever setting foot in a college classroom.

• Colleges and universities report increased demand for courses. The most interest is for college or university courses online: 45 percent of schools say they see more demand for face-to-face classes, while 73 percent report increased demand for online courses.

Three online college graduates of the colleges acknowledged as the top state schools for online education in the 2010 Corporate Report Wisconsin Best of Wisconsin Business Awards recently shared their distance education experiences. Their stories clearly show how online education can help today’s learner, especially those with families and full-time jobs, and demonstrate why these programs continue to gain steam.

Terry Miller
B.S. Business Administration
B.S. Marketing • Lakeland College

When Terry Miller hit the enter button on his home computer sending the final exam for his integrated marketing communications class to his instructor, he had completed his Lakeland College bachelor’s degree.

It was late — 11:54 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2008. But there was one more thing he needed to do — call his father.

“Everyone else was asleep in the house – it was just me and him,” Miller recalls. “He asked me if everything was OK, and I told him ‘Everything is really good.’ He said it for me … he said, ‘You finished’ and I said ‘Yes.’”

The depth of the moment was not lost on him.

“Besides getting married and having [his daughters] Ashley and Hannah, when I hit that enter button, it was the single greatest moment I’ve ever had,” he says.

Miller, an Illinois native and Sheboygan resident, received the 2009 Robert W. Lope Award, presented annually to the Lakeland College Kellett School graduate who, through perseverance, academic achievement and encouragement of others, best represents an extraordinary commitment to education.

Miller certainly had to persevere to obtain his double degrees in business administration and marketing. While he already faced the challenges of having a family and working full-time as he took on college coursework in 1999, over the next nine years he also had two kidney surgeries and his mother passed away from cancer during his final semester.

He credits his success to an online program that treated students like family. “I had a lot of hurdles over the past nine years, and Lakeland College handled it as if they were an extended member of my family,” he says. “I was never just a number to them.”

Miller began his career with Kohler Co. and progressed through various management levels to become a LEAN manufacturing specialist. But his superiors advised him to obtain a college degree if he wanted to continue to move up the corporate ladder.

“As a LEAN manufacturing specialist, I really needed to understand from top to bottom the business and how it runs,” he says. “You can’t fix the process if you don’t understand the business, and that’s how advanced education would help.”

Miller wanted the college degree, but needed to put his family first. He found online education offered the best of both worlds.
“It allowed me to be a father, a husband and to work,” he says. “The goal was to maintain my family life. I never once set foot in a classroom. I did my entire education online.”

It’s been just one and a half years since Miller received his degrees, but they have definitely put his career on the fast track.

While Miller currently works for the BloodCenter of Wisconsin as a LEAN specialist, he recently accepted a position as manager of operations improvement for Aurora Health Care’s Sheboygan market.

Online education may seem the answer to the full-time worker and family man’s prayers, but Miller says to carefully consider the type of learner you are before jumping into an online program.

“You have to be very dedicated to do this type of work,” he says. “There is no teacher saying you need to get this done by this date. If you want the benefits of fitting your education around your life and your schedule, you need the dedication to sit down and do the work.”

Katrina James
MBA
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater

Katrina James took a winding path to online education. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a degree in communications then started a Master of Science degree in Communications at University of Wisconsin -Whitewater. About two-thirds of the way through this program, which was solely classroom based, James began to question whether the degree would take her career in the direction she’d hoped.

At the time James was the marketing and advertising director at VyMac, the parent company of Verlo Mattress Factory Stores, and she wanted to take her work in that area to a higher level. A UW-Whitewater advisor suggested she earn an MBA instead.
James had a nearly two-year-old child at the time and realized she wasn’t willing to take time away from her family life anymore than her full-time job already did.

She began researching online programs and eventually selected the UW - Whitewater’s online MBA program. The year was 1999, and Whitewater’s program, though fairly new at the time, appealed to her because the college’s business program already had an internationally known reputation.

She began the program in 2000 and completed her degree in 2004. She says she appreciated that courses were broken into eight-week formats, allowing her to earn six credits a semester without taking two courses at the same time. A couple of times she even doubled up on eight-week courses in order to complete her degree more quickly.

Lest anyone think online classes are easy, James emphasizes the work can be more demanding as professors make up for the fact that students are not attending lectures. But the practical experiences gained through group and individual projects really help the material sink in, James says.

“In the group projects you worked with people from other cultures and in all different fields of study,” she says. “This really prepares you for working with different departments and cultures in your job.”

Though more online programs are available today than when James attended, not all programs are created equal. James recommends seeking out an accredited program with solid technology assistance.

Online programs use technology platforms, such as Blackboard or Moodle, and as with all technology there can be glitches along theway. UW-Whitewater offered a 24-hour help desk to help online students navigate technology issues.

“You don’t want to have a paper due by midnight and be unable to reach the help desk at 11:30 p.m.,” she says. “Technology assistance is really important.”

She also recommends finding a program with a proven track record. “The school should be able to show that their graduates moved on to good careers,” she says.

As for James’ own outcome, her MBA and Master of Science in Communications, landed her a new job. She is now director of communications and marketing at the University of Indiana and actively pursuing her Ph.D.

“My MBA has helped me get the job that I currently have and succeed in it as well,” she says. “Having a good business foundation is really important no matter what field you go into.”

Shawn Belling
Master of Science, Project Management
University of Wisconsin – Platteville

In 1999, Shawn Belling wasn’t sure whether to pursue an MBA or a Master of Science in Project Management. He didn’t choose between the two until 2004 after spending two years outside of the project management field before returning to the profession full-time.

“When I finally decided to focus my career on project management, I chose a Master of Science over an MBA,” he says.
The next decision didn’t take nearly as long. He quickly decided on the University of Wisconsin - Platteville’s project management master’s program, offered solely online. “Platteville has a long history of distance education going back to the early ‘70s,” he says. “Their program was globally recognized by my profession. Selecting Platteville was a no-brainer.”

The program also offered the best fit for his career and family needs.

“I was married and had three kids when I started the degree program and had a fourth by the time I finished in 2008,” he says. “Work-life balance was a huge concern. Online education gave me the opportunity to fit things in when I could.”

College advisors were very helpful in tailoring the program to his specific needs, he adds. Knowing that he worked full-time, advisors often told him not to take certain classes at the same time because of the workload each involved. “Your own personal schedule, your ability to take on more or less classes, can affect how long it takes you to graduate,” he adds.

His experience was not without challenges, however. He found he had to adjust to a course taking an entire semester and requiring group projects. He also had to adjust to performing graduate-level work after being out of school for a few years.

Belling navigated the challenges and came away with an advanced degree in project management, which he calls a “game changer” for his career. New opportunities presented themselves within weeks of graduation.

“One of the common certifications in project management is the PMP (project management professional),” he explains. “It lands your resume near the top of the pile. Adding a Master of Science in Project Management puts your resume to the ‘top’ of the top of the pile.”

Belling recommends prospective online students weigh their online choices very carefully. He says they should evaluate their career objectives then find a program with a strong reputation, acceptance and accreditation in their desired profession. He also recommends programs employing faculty with strong academic credentials as well as practical work experience.

Finally he recommends checking out the program’s technology platform. Whether it’s Moodle or Blackboard or another option, each platform is unique. “Having a platform that’s difficult for you to use could pose some challenges,” he says. “If you’re going to be interacting with these platforms on a regular basis, you want to make sure you’re happy with them.”

Some academics predict there may come a time where online education is the norm and attending classes in the classroom the exception. Whether or not that eventually materializes, it’s clear online education offers a very viable option to those with lifestyles that demand they work full time while getting their degree.

By Ronnie Garrett

Ronnie Garrett is the Editor of Corporate Report Wisconsin.

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