The President urged permanent legislation. Congress, however, only extended it until this year so we need to fight that battle again. We have solid evidence to prove that when employer paid tuition is taxed, enrollment drops sharply. Education loans and scholarships are now available to adults on the same basis as for youngsters. But much more needs to be done.
Distance learning is one of the most rapidly evolving changes.
Online education barely existed five years ago. Through our joint education programs, CWA has pioneered distance learning. In some ways, distance learning can be better than hands-on training. One of the changes we are asking our employers to agree to is to permit our members to use their computers at work to access on-line studies, rather than have to do it at home. Our companies have fast, powerful computers with high-speed Internet connections which make this benefit very convenient for our members.