Online Education

Pain at the Pump Increases Online Enrollments

Hoboken, NJ (PRWEB) July 18, 2008 -- Americans are feeling the pain at the pump with the average price for regular unleaded gas now topping $4.11 in the United States, up $1.06 from a year ago. The high price to fill up is putting a squeeze on wallets and causing people to reconsider their drive times, leading to a boom in interest for online education. In fact, a research report released by eLearners.com last year, when gas averaged only $2.78, showed seven out of ten Americans indicated a benefit to pursuing college degrees online versus a traditional, on-campus setting is the savings on gas and transportation.

"We did this research last year when gas prices started to climb and now that we're over $4 dollars a gallon for regular unleaded, people are really looking for any way possible to cut back," said Terrence Thomas, EVP of Marketing for EducationDynamics. "Many students are discovering one way to save is by taking classes online instead of on campus."

According to the research, saving money on gas is just one of the many reasons Americans would consider going to school online. The top benefit remains convenience--"easier to work into schedule". These benefits are a driving force behind American's overall interest in online education. In fact, eLearners.com has seen a spike in interest with 15% more visitors to www.eLearners.com in June 2008 compared to June 2007.

The eLearners.com research also found that six out of ten Americans said that if they had to go back to school at some point, they'd be interested in doing it online. What's more interesting is that the younger generation is more compelled to go online with 80% of young adults ages 18 - 24 indicating they would be interested in the online route if they wanted to take more courses or get a degree in the future.

To make sure the sticker shock at the pump and other rising costs doesn't keep working moms from pursuing their college education, eLearners.com recently launched Project Working Mom 2 (www.projectworkingmom.com). The campaign awards full-ride online college and university scholarships to working moms. The initial campaign awarded $2 million in scholarship funding around Mother's Day and attracted more than 50,000 applicants. This overwhelming demand for financial aid prompted eLearners.com and five schools to offer another $2 million in scholarships to working moms for the back-to-school season. American Sentinel University, Ashford University, Capella University, Everest University and Penn Foster College have joined forces to help working moms overcome the obstacles of time, money and confidence to achieve their educational dreams. The deadline to apply for a scholarship at www.projectworkingmom.com is August 31.

To help prospective and current students understand the world of online education eLearners.com offers a comprehensive database of information. The eLearners.com Guide to Online Education is a free handbook that features easy-to-navigate, concise, yet in-depth, research, advice and "how-to" sections to answer online learners' questions. Other resources on eLearners.com include the eLearners Advisor, Debt-Free College Guide and Student Loans and Financial Aid Center.

About eLearners.com®

The eLearners.com website is one of several high visibility, high-quality prospecting tools offered by EducationDynamics, LLC. Since 1999, eLearners.com has been successfully connecting learners to online education, including online degree and certificate programs, specialized career training, and a variety of online courses. For prospective students, eLearners® provides a powerful search engine for users to find thousands of online degree program offerings, as well as educational evaluation tools and financial aid resources. For online colleges and universities, the eLearners.com website offers a low-cost, performance-based method to provide national exposure and increase enrollments in their programs. For more information on eLearners.com, visit http://www.elearners.com/.

About EducationDynamics

EducationDynamics, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is the leading marketing and information services company dedicated to helping higher education institutions find, enroll and retain students. Its content-rich and highly visible education websites, including EarnMyDegree.com, eLearners.com, GradSchools.com, StudyAbroad.com, and its more than 50 special interest microsites, make EducationDynamics the premier provider of qualified prospective students for colleges and universities. In addition, the company offers a full suite of web-delivered services proven to drive enrollment growth and reduce student attrition. For more information, visit http://www.educationdynamics.com.

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