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© Chris P Jobling

Online universities may not be for everyone, as they offer both advantages and disadvantages. A positive is that you have your choice of many online colleges which are accredited and you can earn a degree in a number of popular majors. Using an online university to take classes while also working at a job provides greater flexibility than taking classes on campus that have more regimented schedules.

There are some disadvantages to these programs as well, though. They require commitment and the ability to be very self-directed in your work. There is usually limited one-on-one interaction between students and teachers, and these programs do not recreate the atmosphere that a classroom provides in that aspect. There are some students who do not do well without a structured environment and so online courses may not fulfill their needs.

Nowadays, people all around the globe are showing lot of interest in Online Universities. The fact that everything turning online has helped online university programs to grab the opportunity and provide online degree to applicants.

© Daneel Ariantho

One such university is Western Governors University's Teachers College. It has announced online master's degree in making curriculum and instructions. The course aims in providing the new ways of curriculum building and research work. In order to encourage adults to take up online degree and eventually a better job, Long Island University announces online master's degree program in Social work.

These are one of the few examples among others like online mba programs providing knowledge on how to advance one's career in the field of management and business.

© maebmij

Bill Gates had some words of advice regarding online education in his latest annual foundation letter. He believes there needs to be more focus on quality over quantity, and more standardization. There are many potential benefits to be attained by improving online university courses, from cost savings for universities to enhanced flexibility for students. However, in order to achieve these results, it is true that a significant investment must be made upfront.

For example, the Open Learning Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University is often cited as a role-model for other schools to follow with it's 15 sophisticated online courses, mostly in the sciences. Carnegie Mellon spent between $500000 to $1 million per course to develop that quality of software, and in spite of this they still require human instructors to play a role. While it is a lot of money, it is this kind of innovation that sets a standard and can eventually lower the costs for others to duplicate and improve on Carnegie's success.