Some of us never get a second chance to get our college degree.Perhaps we decided to try the working world out right after highschool or maybe we focused on raising our family or providingfor our kids. It may have been a lack of maturity or motivationbut we let our dream of a college education slip away until wesee it as an impossible dream. The good news is that it is nottoo late. You can still get your college education and an onlinedegree through distance learning, even as you continue to workand look after your responsibilities.

Online degree programs are now being offered by hundreds ofschools, colleges and universities all over the country and ifyou think it is too late for your second chance, just look atthese statistics from the University of Phoenix Online program.

At the University of Phoenix Online students are career-orientedprofessionals: 20% are executives or owners of their ownbusinesses, 30% are middle managers in business and industry,and 44% are technical or licensed professionals. The average ageof University of Phoenix Online students is 38 and nearly twothirds have families.

Not only are there lots of older students in the program at theUniversity of Phoenix but over 60% of online students graduateand receive online degrees. And when the university conductstests of cognitive achievement, online students perform as wellas or better than students enrolled in traditional classroomprograms.

Distance learning programs work mostly through the Internet andby e-mail. The increasingly high speeds of Internet access andthe affordability of personal home computers have created theperfect storm for online learning. Although there has alwaysbeen through mail and correspondence coursesand via teleclasses and teleconferencing, The Internet has madeit not only possible but an interesting way to learn.

According to the Distance Education and Training Council inWashington, D.C., there are an estimated 2.25 million peoplecurrently are studying online at U.S. colleges and universities.And that number continues to grow every day and every year. TheInternational Data Corporation estimates that the number ofdegree-oriented students taking online courses will grow at arate of 33% annually for the next several years. In addition,more than 682 accredited colleges are now offering onlineprograms and online degrees.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up your mouse and click yourway to an online degree today.

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