Online school recognizes outstanding graduate

Online school recognizes outstanding graduate

When Margaret Jones was laid off from her most recent job, she found, after a series of frustrating interviews, that she did not have the computer skills needed to thrive in today's competitive job market.

After realizing her need for further education, Jones went down to her local Aliso Viejo, California career center and was introduced to several adult learning programs including a series of vocational rehabilitation courses offered by Allied Schools, an online education provider.

Once enrolled in the program, Jones successfully completed several online financial accounting courses and was recently awarded the 2010 Distance Education and Training Council's (DETC) outstanding graduate award.

"I have learned so much in the last few months," said Jones. "Now I feel I have extra skills to offer. I would like to go on and further my career in accounting," she added.

There are currently more than three million online education students enrolled with the DETC's member organizations, the training council reports.

The online education sector grew 13 percent last year and had been growing at about 20 percent in previous years. Nearly one in four students take at least some college courses online, up from one in 10 in 2002, Reuters reports.