“It’s amazing how well people have adapted to online.”
Amen to that. Those were the words of an ICD Coordinator last week when our staff was conducting an annual ICD Database review.
The ICD Database now tracks when a tuition voucher is issued for an online college credit class. The information that prompted that statement from the coordinator came when we informed them that nearly half of all of their tuition vouchers issued in 2021 were for online courses.
Is anybody else seeing this possibly temporary but likely not migration to online learning opportunities?
Because we are. Would it surprise you to know that site’s data matches nearly exactly with what we are tracking for all locations in the ICD Database. That means that in 2021, almost 50 percent of all tuition vouchers were issued for online credit classes. It was a surprising revelation for me, to be sure, but it also goes along with something I said from the podium at the 2021 ICD National Conference in Nashville: Participants were not going to be denied their learning opportunities, and they were going to overcome whatever obstacles may be presented to them.
So while we realize the data entry process for 2021 is still not completely finished – shoutout to contact your Program Specialist soon for a database review meeting – the initial data show an ever-growing presence of online learning opportunities for ICD participants
Oftentimes ICD participants are not traditional students. With professional and family requirements, they need that flexibility that online can provide them.
I’m bringing all this up because I read recently an article that I found interesting. It dives into the pros and cons of online learning in a balanced way, in my opinion, and comes to the conclusion that those opportunities are not going away.
Please read for yourself.
Implications of online learning for higher ed
It’s an interesting topic to be sure. And one where we have already invested resources into discussing as a national program. We will continue to do so moving forward.
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