Connecticut government expected to award grants for online education

Connecticut government expected to award grants for online education

The State Bond Commission of Connecticut is currently approving grants that will help universities in the state expand their online course offerings, the Bristol Press reports. This initiative was created to help meet the demand for more degree programs that cater to nontraditional students.

One institution that is eagerly anticipating the newly allotted finds is Charter Oak State College. The college is expecting a $2.5 million bond that will allow it to better serve the existing 3,000 students as well as future enrollees.

Charter Oak was designed to provide adults with alternatives to brick-and-mortar schools. The college offers online degrees that abide by the same academic standards as its classroom-based counterparts.

"Learning takes place in many forms at Charter Oak, and that learning leads to jobs right here in Connecticut," Governor M. Jodi Rell, told the news source.

"We want the students at this school to receive the finest education possible so that they can go on to productive careers right here in the state," he added.

Programs at this college, and at similar online universities, deliver course content via video and technological media.

Approximately 4.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course during the 2008-2009 school year, according to the Sloan Consortium.

By Mark Danson