In 1999, Mark Bonner of PricewaterhouseCoopers accurately predicted: "Online learning will quickly become one of the most cost-effective ways to educate the world's growing workforce." Fifteen years later, his statement is truer than ever, as the price of attending a four-year university skyrockets and the technology needed to earn the same degree online becomes more available. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, from 2000 to 2010, the average cost for college tuition, room and board at public institutions increased by more than forty percent. There are good reasons for the growth of online learning in university environments. The student population has diversified since the introduction of the personal computer and the Internet (O'Malley and McCraw). Students with geographic, employment, or other constraints are now able to benefit from a college education because technological advances have enabled learning for those for whom higher education was previously out of the realm of possibility. There are also many conveniences and benefits of taking a higher education. online lesson compared to a traditional in-person lesson. Many students benefit logistically, financially and from the structure of the course itself. Online classes offer the student more opportunities to succeed in their courses. Online courses can be completed around the student's schedule, provide quicker, less nervous interactions with instructors, and, in many cases, represent more educationally beneficial alternatives to traditional in-person classes. In fact, 67% of academic professionals rated online courses as equivalent to or better than in-person courses (Lytle). The development of online courses began when person...... middle of paper.... ..s Growth." US News. November 11, 2011. USNews & World Report. January 14, 2014. National Center for Labor Statistics education. “Postsecondary Education.” Nces.ed.gov. Institute for Education Sciences. 17 January 2014. “Student Perceptions of Distance Learning.” online and in the traditional classroom." Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration [Online] 2.4 (1999 Web). Steven Bradford, Sean Joseph Smith, and Randall Boone. "Increasing Access to Teacher Preparation: Effectiveness of traditional teaching methods in an online learning environment." Journal of Special Education Technology [Online] 15.2 (2000): 37-46. January 10. 2014