It’s impressive to think that 20 years ago, most people had no idea what the internet was. Today, it’s hard to imagine life without it. As the internet has evolved, online education has evolved as well. Once, the focus of late night infomercials and having a shady reputation, online colleges have become a serious choice for students seeking a degree, but having life circumstances that might preclude attending a traditional university. As this evolution has progressed, many would be students are seeking to find online schools that offer as many of the traditional services of colleges as possible. One important question being asked is what career services does the school offer?
Traditional colleges with online components
Many traditional colleges and universities are offering more and more course work online and many have begun offering complete degrees online. These schools generally offer the same career guidance to their online graduates as they offer to the campus centered students. Schools like Stanford and Princeton have websites that offer a full range of career services for their students and alumni. Traditional schools have found that adding an online route to a degree allows them to broaden their reach while offering full service to the non-traditional student.
Online Schools Improve their Service
As more traditional schools have entered the online arena, the schools that have only been offering online education are being forced to offer more value and service in order to stay competitive. Students want to know that their online education will have an equal chance of gaining them employment and starting their career. This has led online schools like University of Phoenix and Walden University to pay more attention to their career centers, making them more successful in helping place students in rewarding jobs. This is a recent change from the way these schools operated in the past, when graduates were mostly on their own for finding employment. A recent Time article agrees.
Competition Drives Improvement and Innovation
As the number of online universities has increased and the competition gets tougher, colleges have been improving and innovating their career service offerings. Working with their students from enrollment to graduation, these interactive websites are offering guidance all along the way towards a rewarding career. It is then up to the student to take advantage of what the school has to offer.
More Services Means More Options
Today, your choices for advanced education are greater than they have ever been. Traditional colleges and universities are expanding their distance learning curriculum to meet the growing need for alternative education formats. Many online schools have improved their educational quality as well as expanded the services they offer. There are still those schools that provide an education and little else, so you should conduct your research before deciding which route to follow. The amount of offerings and variety of formats may be a bit overwhelming, but the increased availability of education means that anybody who wants to pursue a degree should be able to reach that goal. The increased career services available mean you have better odds of gaining employment in your chosen field than ever before.
