Empower the future if higher education institutions head in a similar direction as newspapers and make themselves available online for free, says Jason Baker, author of The Guide to Christian Distance Education and a professor of education at Regent University. Students of these free courses get no credit or degree, but the courses are valuable to those who just want to learn, Baker says. Online degree programs in which paying students enroll in courses and earn credits and degrees have been slower to catch on among traditional students, though, and most believe the traditional college experience of dorm living and joining sports teams and clubs will persevere, says Roger Parrott, president of Belhaven University, an evangelical university with some 3,500 students. think one is replacing the he says. just more Online programs work because they are convenient and save students commuting and other costs. Because students are able to maintain their jobs and family lives while they learn, they can apply their lessons in real time, rather than waiting until the semester is over, Baker says. The programs engage students using a variety of means. Some connect students through videoconferencing, using programs such as Skype. Some use discussion threads. The next innovation appears centered on the iPhone and iPad, Baker says. Employers accept the degrees from accredited colleges and universities just as any other because they see no difference, Tweedell says. At Indiana Wesleyan University, research shows online programs to have comparable outcomes with those of traditional programs. A separate study found that on average online students actually perform better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The 2009 study, prepared for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research organization, is a 93-page analysis of research on the subject of online education from 1996 to 2008. not Tweedell says of online education. fact we find that people in online education programs often are more involved because they have to participate more. So more engaged in their education process than a person sitting in a lecture Counting the Cost The programs are not for everyone. Online students must be very selfmotivated and should realize that more convenient does not necessarily mean easier, Baker says. Some students require face-to-face interaction, and that is another reason why traditional programs will remain, he says. Online students should be prepared to invest a significant amount of time in 70 CHARISMA June 2010