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What Is The Cost of Distance Learning?
Tuition rates and textbook costs for distance learning classes are usually the same as their on campus
counterparts, although they are sometimes less and sometimes more. Your savings will
not be related to what you pay the school. Instead, you save the costs of commuting, parking, child
care, and lost work time. Depending on the teaching method used, you will, of course, need a computer
with a modem, television, or a VCR. That means an additional cost if you don't already have
these technologies or if you need to update your computer system. However, if you already own
or have access to the technology you need, your only additional cost will be an occasional trip
to a testing center or to a campus-based seminar or other on-campus meeting required by some
programs.
When you think about the incredible amount of time and money it takes to develop these new
teaching methods, you can appreciate the fact that the schools are not actually charging you more
for your distance learning! Not only do colleges and universities pay the additional costs for the
development of a new curriculum, but they also must hire computer programmers, Web site developers,
videographers, site administrators, distribution clerks, online library resource personnel,
specially trained counselors, and technical support staff. On top of that, they must maintain the
computer systems, teleconferencing systems, and other equipment necessary to deliver distance
learning to the students.
Teaching in front of a camera or via a computer is not the forte of every instructor. Universities
must identify faculty members with outstanding presentation abilities and the willingness to
consider flexible approaches toward student learning. Training of faculty in the use of technology
is vitally important to the success of any distance learning program but, at the same time, it is very
expensive. Instead of the traditional weekly office hours, distance learning instructors must give
their students daily attention.
Glenn Jones, an innovator in cable television and distance education for more than 30 years, sees the solution to the cost of developing distance learning in "free market fusion " between
nonprofit educational entities and private-sector companies. Massive consortia have already been
formed between cable companies, four-year universities, community colleges, public broadcasting
services, and other for-profit entities to make distance learning available to more students at a
reasonable price.
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# The primary pathway to professional nursing, as compared to technical-level practice, is the four-year Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN). Registered nurses are prepared either through a four-year baccalaureate program; a two- to three-year associate degree in nursing program; or a three-year hospital diploma program. Graduates of all three programs take the same state licensing exam, the NCLEX-RN. (The number of diploma programs has declined steadily -- to less than 10 percent of all basic RN education programs -- as nursing education has shifted from hospital-operated instruction into the college and university system.)
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With more than four times as many RNs in the United States as physicians, nursing delivers an extended array of health care services, including primary and preventive care by advanced, independent nurse practitioners in such clinical areas as pediatrics, family health, women's health, and gerontological care. Nursing's scope also includes care by clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse-midwives and nurse anesthetists, as well as care in cardiac, oncology, neonatal, neurological, and obstetric/gynecological nursing and other advanced clinical specialties.
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The Level 1 population included: 25% immigrants learning to speak English; 62% had terminated their education before completing high school; 25% percent age 65 or older; 26% with physical, mental, or health conditions that kept them from participating fully in work, school, housework, or other activities; 19% with visual difficulties affecting the ability to read print.
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Students learning in a virtual classroom tested 20 percent better across the board than their counterparts who learned in a traditional classroom . There was no significant difference between the sex, age, computer experience, or attitude toward the subject material of the two groups
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