You see advertisements for them every day: "Get your online degree at your convenience and get a better job." And in fact, if done right, an online university can provide you just the education you need, without having to significantly adjust your life to make room for a class schedule. This is because you can take classes online at your convenience, at night, or whenever you can schedule some free time. This makes it much easier to hold down a full-time job, take care of your children, or any other number of things you would have to juggle if you were to go back to school full time on a traditional campus.

With the globalization of communication and the economy have come many changes. Distance is no longer an obstacle to communication; labour crosses borders; jobs change; and people change jobs frequently. And because of all these changes, lifelong education becomes particularly important in this knowledge-based economy.