A Washington Post article entitled, "Online Degree Programs Take Off" notes:

"Critics of e-learning have long said that learning alone through a computer does not provide the enriching intellectual exchange that in-person classes offer. In addition, they say that because the industry is so new, naive consumers may not know the difference between accredited institutions and fly-by-night operations that imply accreditation and charge steep prices. Most educators and industry executives acknowledge that e-learning may not be right for young learners who have not developed the discipline needed to work independently."

Allow me to retort.

1) "Critics of e-learning have long said that learning alone through a computer does not provide the enriching intellectual exchange that in-person classes offer."

I question the "enriching intellectual exchange" that traditional, on-campus classes purportedly offer. I received my bachelor's degree at a large state university (ranked second in the Northeast by U.S. News & World Report) and I distinctly recall sitting listlessly in an cavernous lecture hall, with no less than 300 fellow classmates, trying to follow mind-numbing lectures delivered by a testy, inaudible professor who would clearly rather be doing anything than teaching undergraduates. Hardly the stuff of "enriching intellectual exchange."

2) "In addition, they say that because the industry is so new, naive consumers may not know the difference between accredited institutions and fly-by-night operations that imply accreditation and charge steep prices."

It's not so much that critics think that distance learning is "new" - the real issue at hand is that traditional academia is inert and highly resistant to change. Of course, innovation is discouraged! Here are, in my humble opinion, two reasons why:

• Most faculty who are already overworked and underpaid will fight tooth-and-nail, through their union, to protect their current job responsibilities ("Why should I take on teaching an online course?"), schedules ("I like having my summers off!"), and the overall environment in which they operate.
• Colleges and universities have already established themselves as profit-making institutions under the current structure. They tend to be critical of online education because they want to limit competition (understandably so) and are loathe to give up any piece of the student enrollment pie. Let's remember that all colleges and universities - private, public, non-profit, for-profit - operate to make money. The only difference is that instead of distributing profits to shareholders, as for-profit schools do (a practice that is met with great criticism), these schools are developing gigantic, billion-dollar war chests (forty-seven U.S. colleges and universities have endowments of over $1 billion dollars!!).

Sorry, got off on a tangent there. As for consumers who are worried about locating legitimately accredited online degrees, have no fear - that's what eLearners.com is for! You can be 100% sure that you are requesting information from schools that are accredited by agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and/or Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

3) "Most educators and industry executives acknowledge that e-learning may not be right for young learners who have not developed the discipline needed to work independently."

Okay, agreed. Anyway, I can't recall anyone suggesting pulling eight-year-olds out of the classroom and in front of a computer to do the 3rd grade online. Although online education might be, down the road, an excellent fit for those kids today who are incredibly tech-savvy and already spending much of their time on the Internet.