Minnesota colleges see online education gaining in popularity

Minnesota colleges see online education gaining in popularity

The Minnesota Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system has announced that its institutions have experienced double-digit increases in enrollment this fall, and that student numbers are up nearly 7 percent.

According to BusinessNorth.com, a business news source for Northern Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin, enrollment increases were particularly strong at the system's 25 community and technical colleges. This is consistent with the predictions by many labor market analysts who have said jobs requiring technical skills - especially in the fields of information technology and engineering - will be the fastest growing when the economy has recovered.

"We know the economy was a major factor driving this enrollment boom," said Chancellor James H. McCormick, quoted by the source.

MnSCU also revealed that while enrollment in college courses through the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program grew by 4.8 percent this fall, the number of students taking online courses grew by 21.7 percent.

Online programs serve the interests of adult learners who want to enhance or retool their skills particularly well by offering flexible instruction hours and lower costs than traditional degrees.