Distance education makes the information available to them 24-7. All kinds of classes are offered through DE programs. Community colleges generally focus more on freshman and sophomore level academic courses required for associate and bachelor's degrees, and classes for the workforce. UH's distance program, which partnered with 10 area community colleges in 1995, offers more than 300 junior, senior and graduate level courses in about 40 fields of study, including business, education and psychology. The numbers have been soaring in recent years.
Accessibility is the key ingredient.
HCC's program has exploded, too. Distance programs also have been skyrocketing nationally. More than 1.3 million students enrolled in DE classes in 1998, a 33 percent increase over 1994, according to a recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics. And nearly 80 percent of public four-year universities and 62 percent of community colleges around the nation offered such classes in 1998, the study showed. Distance education classes are offered in a variety of ways.