Is Online Education Cheaper Than Traditional On-Campus Education?

Along with the widespread advantages of online education, wouldn’t that be an additional bonus if the tuition was cheaper as well? Contrary to popular belief, tuition fees for online education are not cheaper than your traditional brick and mortar college or university education. Current information that boasts cheaper online education can be misleading.

There are a lot of “what ifs” when it comes to education costs. Tuition will certainly be more expensive if you attend a private school as opposed to a public school. But you will not find any great cost savings by attending school online instead of on-campus. The courses you choose, whether online or on-campus, will generally cost you a specified amount per credit. Depending on the amount of credits your degree or certificate needs, will decide the total cost of your tuition.

If you do happen to come across an unbelievable deal for achieving your degree online, then beware. The validity of the degree may be as unbelievable as the price. Diploma Mills will take your money in exchange for a fake degree. They are a huge business and make lots of money off of the unsuspecting student. A sure sign of a Diploma Mill is if you see “Achieve your Bachelor’s Degree for $425” or “Get Your Degree in as little as 27 Days” –Beware! If what the online school is offering seems too good to be true – it probably is.

So, despite its convenience and flexibility, online education offers no cost advantage on your tuition. But wait, you can still save money. Having the ability to engage in your education from the comforts of your own home has many cost savings benefits attached to it. You could save hundreds or thousands of dollars alone in:

Auto Expenses – first off, there isn’t the extra expense of gas and we are all aware (and sensitive) towards our rising gasoline prices. Depending on how far you would typically have to drive to university, this could be a substantial savings. Parking on campus can also do a good job at keeping your wallets empty over the course of a semester. And there are always other accompanying costs which come with owning a vehicle.

Room and Board – If the college or university offering your program is too far away that you can’t commute, then online education can save you a huge chunk of cash on not having to pay for food and lodging close to the campus. Costs for room and board alone can sometimes add up to more than the tuition fees.

There are still other minor cost savings benefits that are recognized from taking your courses online. But the real benefit is that, if it wasn’t for online education, some people wouldn’t have the ability to pursue a post secondary education at all. Many are working or have families and they cannot attend school during the day. For others, online education can be the source of “hard to find” course that they need. The benefits are many.

The costs of developing, implementing and delivering distance education courses can be substantial. Online Institutions have not passed these costs onto the students as one would think. We are actually fortunate that the cost of online education isn’t higher than on-campus tuitions.