Santa Rosa, CA (PRWEB) November 27, 2008 -- During a holiday season rocked by economic uncertainty, the ho-ho-ho's are drowning in a sea of shrinking wallets, rising unemployment rates and growing fears about the economy.
Even the most anticipated shopping day of the year, Black Friday, is slightly tarnished in the wake of hard times that rudely took up early residence in the homes of families across the nation.
But this is America; and Americans are too resilient to allow unanticipated interruptions in their lives to dictate the end of this holiday tale. Instead, hopeful individuals have turned to online schools as their anchor to a better, more prosperous future.
In Hollywood, snippets of life-changing economic events simply play out as the fodder of tear-jerkers, dramas that leave movie audiences sniffling and dabbing their eyes. Yet the strength and resolve of hard-working, vision-filled individuals has injected inspiration, encouragement and motivation into masses of people who are reassessing, re-examining and restoring their lives in meaningful, constructive ways.
Returning to school has flushed a cool, invigorating dose of confidence and self-reliance into an increasing stream of adult learners, who have emphatically embraced the idea that they can rebuild what has been lost by improving job skills, training for a new career, earning their GED, or working toward an online degree. Financial aid packages provide a combination of grants and loans to help offset the costs of tuition and living expenses.
According to the new 2008 Sloan Consortium report, "Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States", 3.9 million students enrolled in distance-learning classes in the fall of 2007. This was a significant increase of 12.9% from the previous year. Traditional colleges and universities increased a mere 1.2% during the same time period; and many more brick-and-mortar schools have now developed online degree programs to entice students who prefer the freedoms and familiarity of technology-driven learning.
Pertinent reasons for e-learning's phenomenal success over the past several years include high gas prices, massive job layoffs, the outsourcing of jobs, busy schedules, the metamorphosis of distance-learning technology, the improved training of online teachers, the entrance of Ivy League universities into online education and the rising success of for-profit online schools.
Interestingly, when the economy is in trouble, colleges - especially those that cater to adult learners -- tend to experience higher enrollment. And with online degree programs now flowing so abundantly in mainstream schools, it is easier for potential students to find career-enhancing training that can be accomplished at convenient times in the comfort of their homes.
For example, broad-based college clearinghouse, Directory of Schools, offers complete information on their website about online and traditional schools, along with vocational and career-related articles.
This holiday season, the tale of those who are down, but not out, is replayed over and over as people give in spite of their own lack, and as they find joy in simplicity. But the gift of being able to look beyond what is happening today to a better tomorrow is the stuff of dreams and greatness.
About DirectoryofSchools.com
Since 1999, DirectoryofSchools.com has connected over 21,000,000 potential students to accredited online schools and e-learning information. We offer approximately 10,000 online degrees and professional certificate programs in almost 1,400 schools. DirectoryofSchools.com is committed to excellence in online education through partnerships with universities, colleges and trade schools. Our in-house verification process, which reviews accreditation or vocational industry standards relevant to each school, insures that partner schools are reputable. In addition, a comprehensive national Directory of United States High Schools is available on the DirectoryofSchools.com website, along with a Directory of U.S. Universities, a Directory of U.S. Colleges and an informative Education Blog. Career-minded individuals need make only one cyber-stop for all of their distance learning needs.