The Coming Rise of Online College

By Si Dunn

The cost of a university education is staggering. And it's about to get much worse as revenue-strapped states find themselves forced to sharply raise some of the fees for attending college.

Attending is the operative word here as beleagured parents and students try to figure out how they will afford a good education. It costs a great deal of money to house and educate students on campus and to pay the salaries of professors and support staff. And the costs keep soaring at a time when more and more parents and students are unemployed or underemployed.

Online college courses already are providing at least some cost relief. For example, I live in Texas, and I am now taking an online course for credit from Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass. The online class is costing me nearly $500 less than attending a similar course on campus at a local university just two miles away.

Several reputable universities now offer degrees that can be earned completely or almost completely online.

There are scams, too, of course. And the degrees or class credits from some online schools may not be worth much academically or in the job market.

But America's current economic crisis will force many parents and students to take harder looks at online classes for at least part of a college education. And the quality and acceptability of online education will continue to rise.

Well-known schools such as Ohio University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Colorado, Harvard and many others now offer online courses for credit.

In some cases, you may use your computer to watch videotaped lectures and use email to send in completed assignments or questions for your instructor. Other schools may use various other methods to deliver course materials and lectures online. Old-fashioned correspondence courses also are still available, and these make it possible to handle all of the classwork and tests by mail, without computers and Web and email access.

Some online courses allow more time for completion than a usual on-campus semester. And some classes can be started at any time of the year.

You may not want to pursue an online degree. But taking a few online courses may be a good way to reduce the cost of your college education. And the accessibility of these courses may help you get a good, quick jump on earning a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, or even a Ph.D.

Just be careful to pick a well-known school with online class credits that can transfer from one college or university to another.

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John McCain: Open Mouth, Insert Foot

By Si Dunn

According to the Associated Press, Arizona Republican John McCain believes Democrat Barack Obama has no right to criticize McCain's position on military scholarships because the Illinois senator did not serve in uniform.

"And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did," McCain said in a statement issued May 22.

McCain lashed out at Obama's personal history despite Obama's repeated praise of McCain's military service, the Associated Press reported.

An Opposing View
Barack Obama has every right to criticize John McCain on this issue. Our nation is shortchanging recently returned veterans at almost every turn, while giving away and throwing away countless billions of borrowed dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, President Bush and John McCain are claiming that current legislative proposals for a new GI Bill would be too expensive for America.

Speaking of “too expensive,” returning veterans are coming home expecting to be able to go to college with their promised benefits, only to find that their vouchers barely will cover a fraction of the costs they will face.

Thousands upon thousands of men and women enlisted on the promise--the guarantee--of a college education after service. So where is it? Currently tied up and hamstrung by misplaced political priorities and unbelievably massive financial waste.

No, Barack Obama did not fly a jet and spend years in North Vietnamese captivity. And yes, John McCain fought honorably in two conflicts—Vietnam and his battle for personal survival in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. But Sen. McCain seems to be forgetting exactly why he was fighting. Didn’t it have something to do--at least vaguely--with preserving democracy and protecting the rights of people--including Senators from opposing parties--to speak freely?

Personal Experience
The GI Bill gave me just enough money to go to college after I served out my enlistment in the Navy and came home from the Tonkin Gulf. Yes, I had to work some part-time jobs, and yes, I sometimes had little more than a few Cokes and a loaf of bread to live on while waiting for the next check. But the money, when carefully managed, was at least enough to pay tuition, to buy books, and to eat. Part-time jobs covered rent, clothing and inevitable extras. Without the GI Bill, I could never have earned a degree and worked at good-paying jobs.

Bottom line: Those few thousand dollars of assistance I received from the Vietnam-era GI Bill have been returned to the U.S. Treasury many times over as tax payments during my 40-plus years of employment.

Not giving today’s veterans enough money to have an equal chance at college is not just unfair. It is politically and socially immoral.

John McCain should be deeply ashamed of his opposition to more funding for American veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. He, of all people, should be acutely aware of how much they have sacrificed-—and are still sacrificing--for our country.

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