University graduates first exclusively online student

University graduates first exclusively online student

Officials at Anderson University have recently announced that the school has graduated its first online education student.

Sheila Day, who lives 200 miles away from the Anderson, South Carolina campus, completed her bachelors degree in criminal justice in December.

While working full-time, Day needed the flexibility of a non-traditional adult learning program. She found that AU's online education courses were just as rigorous as any on-campus curriculum.

"A lot of people assume that an online class is easy. Not true…you must stay on top of your assignments and test schedules," said Day.

The school also offers several other online degree programs that include a bachelor of human services, a master of business administration and a master of ministry. Beginning next semester, AU will roll out an online bachelor of business administration program and will offer general education courses for students who need to fulfill graduation requirements.

Today, over 3.5 million students are taking online courses and earning online college degrees. At the secondary school level, over 700,000 high school students are taking one or more courses online and nearly 40 states have established state-led virtual schools.