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Soldier goes to PCC online: The Corporate College has become more popular as students take up learning at home or on the job(Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 12--Distance learning took on a whole new perspective recently when Army Sgt. Bryan Todd hooked up for an online course through Polk County Community College's Corporate College. Closing out his seven-year stint in the Army, which included a year in Iraq and a more recent stint in Afghanistan, he registered and took all 40 hours of the Florida insurance-licensure-exam course during his free time while in Afghanistan and at his home base in Germany. He is preparing for a new career in insurance when he leaves the service with an honorable discharge in June. He has been an aviation mechanic. Last week, though, he returned to Polk County to take -- and pass -- the insurance-course exam, becoming the first active-duty military member to take the college's online courses while posted overseas. Todd said he looks forward to checking out "a number of promising job opportunities" in the insurance field when he gets home. "We happened to offer some prospects he saw for employment," said Dana Michael, coordinator of the online insurance courses. Although Todd's situation is unusual, the courses' growing popularity is not. More requests are coming in for the classes, which allow students to study online at their convenience. Once considered an obscure method of learning, the classes are now considered an alternative for busy professionals or others who need the convenience and flexibility of online learning. About 150 people a year take the PCC online courses, from information technology to various regulated industry-exam courses, such as real estate or insurance. The cost is generally about the same as sitting in a classroom. "They can sit home in their pajamas and do it," Michael said. Nationwide, online courses have exploded in popularity, from 1.98 million students in 2003 to 2.35 million in 2004, and they have gained credibility with educators who are increasingly relying on online avenues. The number of institutions of higher education that consider online education as a "critical" part of their long-term strategy grew from 49 percent in 2003 to 56 percent in 2005, according to a 2005 national study of more than 1,000 colleges and universities. Without this option, Todd would have had to wait until getting out of the military to start his studies toward a new career. Although he must still pass the state license exam, he is already able to line up job prospects months before discharge. The PCC Corporate College trains about 12,000 students at its Lakeland and Winter Haven campuses and at various job sites each year. For information about the online courses, go to www.polk.edu/cc/. Kelly Griffith can be reached at 863-422-5908 or [email protected]. |