A recent report conducted by the PEW Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University said it all: the future of higher education lies in distance education.
The study surveyed 1,021 education experts and stakeholders about their predictions for the future of higher education. The group included technology researchers, university directors, venture capitalists and Ivy League university professors — people who are all on the cutting edge of education in the United States. A convincing 60% of respondents said that they believe that by the year 2020 Universities will have massively adopted teleconferencing and distance learning in order to leverage expert resources.
This is no surprise to those of us at the Intercultural Open University Foundation (IOUF). We’ve been firm believers in the value of distance education since our Foundation’s inception in 1981. It’s an educational paradigm that brings people together from around the world and it has the capacity to deliver a learning experience that is unlimited by traditional classroom walls.
And it is far less expensive than traditional education. According to the American Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt in the United States surpassed $1 trillion last year. For more details, visit:
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/too-big-to-fail-student-debt-hits-a-trillion/
And it’s growing.
The National Center for Education Statistics notes that the cost of a graduate degree in the US ranges from $29,000 to more than $50,000 annually and the cost of a PhD program generally ranges from just over $24,000 to more than $36,000 a year.
Information collected by the Guardian Newspaper in the UK (Visit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2012/feb/28/anthropology-postgraduate-masters-courses) showed that the tuition cost of a Master’s or PhD degree in anthropology in that country ranges from £4,400 ($7,080 USD) to more than £11,000 ($17.700 USD) per year. Add in course materials and living expenses and the numbers go up substantially.
By contrast, tuition at the IOUF is €8,000 (about $10,000 USD) for the entire degree, regardless of how long it takes to complete. Because the degree work is completed online, there are no travel costs or living expenses to add in to the mix.
A learner can take our degree programs from anywhere in the world and because all course work is conducted online, they can maintain their studies even when professional or charitable commitments take them out of town. With more than 30 years of experience in providing distance education to a globally-based student body, we are experts in the technological and methodological issues involved in generating a successful learning experience. Our accreditation agreements with the Universidad Azteca and the Universidad Central de Nicaragua help ensure our global outlook and our emphasis on social change are reflected in our degree programs as well.
Our learners, graduates and faculty are located in towns and cities around the world and they all share a unique commitment to making this world a better place in whatever way their gifts permit.
If you would like more information on how we can put our expertise to work on behalf of your dream of higher education, we invite you to contact us for more information.