What could students do when confronted with school closures and other issues?

A recent article reported that nearly 250 colleges were at risk of shutting down, after a top official at the U.S. Department of Education endorsed a plan to terminate the colleges’ accreditor’s authority to act as a gatekeeper for federal student aid.

The above-mentioned article pointed out that the Washington-based Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges & Schools (ACICS) was planning to appeal the decision, but has gone ahead and offered three options for the affected schools – “find a new accreditor,” “merge with other colleges,” or “close their doors.”

What would students do if their college closes its door for one reason or another,? What if the students were confronted by other issues affecting availability and cost of schooling?  This article suggests that one solution to this problem is for affected students to pursue online education.

A webpage of the Straube Foundation  provides a description of various accredited online programs, colleges and universities while numerous online learning portals are presented at an associated webpage.

 Apart from reduced costs, other advantages of online learning include: students  get to participate in  programs they are most interested in,  when the programs may not be available locally; a flexible schedule that could allow one to work/earn an income and study at the same time; and the possibility of a 100% self-paced education.

Posted by Dr. Nat Tuivavalagi