I saw an amazing statistic today — only 52 percent of all college students actually get their degree within five years.  Some take much longer to earn their degree, while others simply never graduate.

Even though I am shocked by the statistic, I probably shouldn’t be.  The article talks about how colleges are trying to encourage more students to finish their degrees, and I think they are probably correct in thinking what the major hurdles are.  One is, of course, the rising cost of tuition — even if you can get financial aid, the benefit hasn’t really kept up with the cost of getting an education in our country.

However, I think one of the major difficulties people face wasn’t really addressed in the article: the difficulty many people face in making time for school.  Even evening classes don’t offer much more flexbility than daytime classes, because many returning students have jobs with odd hours, meaning that they’re not really available in the evenings either.

Online education really is the way of the future.  I think if more people knew they could get their health care management degree online, for instance, they would be more likely to enroll in the online programs — and therefore more likely to finish their degrees.

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