Online learning is a trend that has grown significantly in recent years, and the University of Illinois Springfield has seen a big uptick in online enrollment this year.
UIS has seen a 4.5% increase in online enrollment this fall, with over 30% of the entire student body made up of students who are only taking online classes. However, the growth is nothing new for UIS.
Dr. Vickie Cook is the Director of the UIS Center for Online Learning, Research and Service. She said, "We had online programs that started in late 1999-2000, and we have continued to grow every semester, except for one, throughout that time frame."
There are over 1,600 online students at UIS this fall.
Rene Corso is one of those students, who went back to school to get a bachelor's degree in business administration.
"Whenever I was younger, it was a lot better for me to go to a classroom," said Rene. "It offered more structure."
She says she chose to take online classes because of its convenience.
"Being a little bit older, working full time and having a family, it just made it a lot easier for me to be able to do it online at my own leisure," said Rene.
The online learning program at UIS has expanded globally.
The program has students in 46 states, 2 territories and 9 countries.
This story appeared on WICS Newschannel 20 on September 28, 2016.
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