Boyle estimates that the distance technologies used to deliver content save companies up to 45 percent over more traditional ways of providing continuing education. These presentations are made available to NTU students, sometimes synchronously with campus instruction, so they can see and hear classroom discussion and the lecture as well. Professors use individual Web sites to post notices, hand out assignments, and suggest outside readings. To encourage peer interactions, some professors may set up chat rooms, or have students at a company get together to discuss topics among themselves. Universities extend their classrooms and reach new students that they would not have had otherwise.
Companies have a cost-effective way of providing continuing education that is relevant to employees.
Ryan Nguyen, a staff software engineer at IBM, is an enthusiastic NTU student. I was interested in pursuing a graduate degree and I was looking for a high-quality program in a format convenient to my schedule. NTU was available. While he considered other graduate programs, Ryan felt that NTU's M.S. in software engineering met his specific requirements better than other programs he explored. Ryan noted that NTU allowed him to tailor his degree program to fit his personal and professional needs.