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Students dodge commute, save money with online classes: Time, high gas costs likely reasons for enrollment boost(Tribune, The (Mesa, AZ) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 17--When college students assess the costs for each semester, they could need to create new budget lines: saving time and saving gas money. Some indications are showing they're finding a solution to both with online courses. That's one of the reasons Joey Heit, 34, decided to take classes online through Rio Salado College, which offers courses almost exclusively through the Internet. Already, the emergency room tech saves money since he lives just two miles from his work at Banner Gateway Medical Center on the Mesa/Gilbert border. This fall, he's starting his third semester of nursing courses and trying not to worry about gas prices. "If I do make trips and go across town, I do try to do three or four things that one trip," he said. According to national reports, a growing number of community colleges are hearing from students that the price of commuting to and from campus is driving some to enroll in online classes. While no officials point directly to the rise in gas prices, most believe it is an underlying factor. "It would be a huge benefit of taking an online class," said Jonathan Bainey, acting dean for learning technologies at Mesa Community College. "The last two years gas has tripled in price. We have a suspicion saving money and not having to drive into any of our campuses may be a reason as to why they would take our online classes." Each semester sees growth in online enrollment, he said. MCC started offering online courses in the late 1990s and now has more than 150 offerings. Last fall, about 7,000 students took online courses. This year, about 4,000 are signed up so far, but Bainey said that "definitely will surpass" last fall since many students wait until the last minute to register. "Because things are changing so fast, with the high gas prices, we're trying to figure out the increase in the numbers," he said. Mesa's Kelesia Bomar is a student at MCC. "Thank goodness MCC offers online classes. I'm looking at rearranging my schedule to take more classes online in the fall because of the price of gas," she said via e-mail. In the past, about 70 percent of those students enrolled online also took traditional classes on campus, Bainey said. Phoenix resident Merredith Hutton, 33, said soaring gas prices drove her back to school with hopes of landing a better job. The airline stewardess signed up for online classes at the Rio Salado campus in Tempe to avoid the drive into a campus. "School online is brilliant," said Hutton, a social work student. "It's obviously far from traditional, but especially in today's economy if you feel trapped in your job and you want out I think the best tool you have is education." The Maricopa County Community College District is in the process of finding ways to help students deal with the extra expenses, said Chris Chesrown, spokeswoman for the district. "We're trying to figure out some things we might be doing for students in the fall, whether it's helping organize car pools, increasing bike racks or offering discounted bus passes," she said. Enrollment at the district's Rio Salado College is on the rise. "There has been an increase," in enrollment, said school spokeswoman Colleen Sparks. "We can't say for sure it's because of the gasoline prices but that could be a factor." More than 60,000 students are registered at Rio Salado, taking more than 450 classes. Amanda Telloni has been an academic adviser at Rio Salado for the past year, helping students arrange their classes for nursing, education, dental hygiene and more. She hears various reasons why students enroll in online classes, including the gas prices. "There's been hints of it, especially now that it's increasing. You do hear that they're saving a tremendous amount of money just because they're not sitting in traffic all day and trying to get to class in person," she said. "I think with students there's an increasing amount of everything going up, not just gas, but groceries, electricity. "A lot of our students work full time so it's hard to fit in a night class or a three-hour class." At Arizona State University, officials say it's unclear whether gas prices are making an impact on online enrollment. "We do not see gas prices as an issue right now, but it's also too early to report enrollment at this point," Steve Perez, senior coordinator in Strategic Marketing & Communication, wrote in an e-mail. "Things seem to be steady and on course with last year's (online enrollment) numbers, but, again, it's too early to tell." To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.eastvalleytribune.com. 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