Colin Powell speaks at online university graduation

Colin Powell speaks at online university graduation

On January 30, former Secretary of State General Colin Powell delivered the keynote address at Kaplan University's winter 2010 graduation ceremony in Miami, encouraging students to reach new heights in their personal and professional development. Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also discussed the growing need to adapt to a new generation of students by increasing access to online education.

"You can improve yourselves using the incredible power of this revolution [in online education] …this revolution will speed through this country because of its effectiveness and power," said Powell.

"Today, celebrate your achievements; tomorrow get back online and determine what you are going to do next," he added.

Since 2001, Kaplan University has graduated over 22,000 students. On Saturday, nearly 500 students attended the commencement ceremony, with hundreds more participating in the school's first ever live webcast of the event.

The online education sector grew by nearly 17 percent last year. Approximately 4.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in the fall of 2008.

By Mark Danson