Record Number of Online Degree Seekers in '05

The number of students enrolled in online classes has doubled in the last three years. According to the Sloan Consortium, a group of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education, 2.6 million students studied online in the fall of 2004. Though figures for 2005 have not yet been released, it is projected that over 3.5 million students enrolled in online classes last year.

Calgary, AB (PRWEB) February 3, 2006 -- The number of students enrolled in online classes has doubled in the last three years. According to the Sloan Consortium, a group of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education, 2.6 million students studied online in the fall of 2004. Though figures for 2005 have not yet been released, it is projected that over 3.5 million students enrolled in online classes last year.

Worldwidelearn.com, the world's largest online directory of education, notes that the number of people seeking Bachelor degrees online has grown more steadily than the number seeking Master's degrees. WWL cites the fastest growing fields of online education as Web Design and Development (up 183% since January of 2005), Accounting and Finance (136%), and Early Childhood Development (111%), based on web traffic to specific degree program pages on World Wide Learn's website.

Online enrollment of students seeking Associate, Master's and Bachelor degrees has grown at an inflated rate of over ten times that projected by the National Center for Education Statistics for the general postsecondary student population. It seems that in order to remain competitive in the 21st century, more and more schools are providing online programs. Today 63% of schools offering undergraduate face-to-face courses also offer undergraduate courses online.

World Wide Learn noted a sharp increase in Master's degree-related traffic in January of 2006. MBA seekers have been responsible for the heaviest traffic on their website, followed by those seeking Master's degrees in IT disciplines. Bachelor degrees remain the most steadily desirable overall. Seekers of Bachelor degrees in business disciplines rose 122%, while Bachelor degree-related traffic in accounting and finance was up 136%.

World Wide Learn is the world's largest directory of educational services, featuring informative resources as well as over 1,600 online degree programs, 200 online universities, 2,300 campus-based career college programs, and over 2,500 online courses. World Wide Learn receives thousands of visitors each day and has been featured on MSMoney.com.

Site: http://www.worldwidelearn.com

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