Online distance education on the rise in NC state schools

UNC Charlotte offers online degrees and certificates as part of its distance education programs. With the current bad economy, UNC Continuing Education Director Connie Martin says her office is ramping up efforts to put continuing education courses online. "We do anticipate unfortunately that there's going to be a great number of people either who have lost their jobs or are nervous about their jobs and are seeking an additional credential," says Martin At the community college level, Central Piedmont saw an increase in fall enrollment for online courses by 35 percent over the year before. CPCC officials say this can be attributed to several factors: the sour economy prompts more enrollments from mostly out of work students and classrooms fill up with less state funding to expand class space. As a result, students fill online classes.