As the digital age continues to rise, aspiring college graduates have turned to online courses to follow their fields of study. According to a 2012 study by Babson, it is estimated that 33% of all college students were enrolled in at least one online class. Some may find that taking one or two classes online is enough for them. Others pursue a different route, forgoing a traditional education to earn their degree online. A recent joint study by The Learning House, Inc. and Aslanian Market Research revealed that the most popular course of study was business. The Bachelor of Business Administration, or BBA for short, as the most popular online degree.
BBAs give their recipients an overview of the business world. It also helps them narrow into the field they intend to work in. Required courses generally include accounting, statistics, marketing, and finance, among others. Here are just a few reasons why students choose to earn an online BBA degree.
Flexible Scheduling
According to the aforementioned Learning House study, the primary reason students enroll in online classes is that it allows them to balance their personal lives with academic obligations. Online courses often permit those enrolled to create their own schedules. This is especially important for those who have dependents. For instance, online business students are able to drop their kids at soccer practice, come home, down a pot of coffee and knock out a chapter of accounting work rather than having to rush back and forth to classes.
Additionally, the format of online courses allows for breaks for students. While the format of business lectures vary, they are usually over Skype, either pre-recorded or live. Students who take online classes are given the ability to pause a pre-recorded marketing lecture. They can return to it after a five-minute break. In an online degree course, students are able to work at their own pace and on their own schedules. As long as they complete all the work required.
Cost Benefits
To those who are looking for a less expensive business college experience, an online degree program is the way to go. There’s no paying for room and board or even transportation costs necessary for a commuter school. All that is required for an online business course is a laptop, an internet connection, and a textbook. Four years of room and board at a public school costs around $40,000. Online courses provide a frugal and pragmatic alternative to the traditional college experience.
Many online colleges charge an extra “technology fee” for online classes, which can range from $40-$120 per class. Consider them a minor luxury tax paid for the convenience of a flexible schedule and the money saved through a more personal approach to college.
Geography Isn’t A Factor
Online classes have opened up information pathways worldwide, connecting business schools to aspiring students across the globe. Residential business students may feel limited to the options within their own state or surrounding area. However, online students have the luxury of choosing a degree from anywhere in the world.
If a student wants to earn a B.B.A. from a prestigious business institution, such as Penn State but lives in the middle of Oregon, an online class would connect them to the campus thousands of miles away. From the comfort of their own home, they could take classes pertaining exactly to their areas of interest and earn a four-year degree without ever setting foot in the state of Pennsylvania.
Familiarity with Working Online
Lastly, in today’s competitive world of business, it is an advantage to be familiar with technology as one’s career begins. Technological achievements changed the way that business is conducted. Skype allows traders in Hong Kong to communicate directly with Wall Street. Systems like Excel process payroll data for millions of employees. An online BBA degree would teach these tools. It would also force the students to become familiar with them in a practical sense not taught face-to-face.
Online students Skype into scheduled lectures with their professor, create spreadsheets of data, and collaborate on projects via Google Drive. Online classes where students use them to accomplish projects and goals give them a practical advantage in the business world. After they earn their online BBA degree and get a job in their field, business workers need online training on these systems. That’s something online students will be more than prepared for. Online classes may seem like a massive undertaking at first, but the practical knowledge that comes along with them is invaluable.
