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(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 16, 2009 ) Fort Lauderdale, FL -- Congress has ignored the pain we all feel in the recession by continuing their own automatic pay raises. Fortunately they voted yes on President Obama's economic bailout plan, labeled the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), which offers help for those seeking higher education to beat the recession.
The TARP offers extensive relief to school districts and post secondary education programs. According to Sheila Danzig, founder of Degree.com, an information hub on accredited online degree programs, it's critical that the proposed aid for students pursuing college and graduate degrees online be kept in the plan, as more and more people show an interest in online education.
"Interest in distance learning has skyrocketed in the past 6 months," said Danzig. "Inquiries about online degree education programs at Degree.com jumped by 57 percent in 2008 and by around the same amount again in the first two months of 2009," Danzig notes. "Other sites show a similar jump in interest. In the last quarter of 2008, TheCollegeDegrees.com (www.thecollegedegrees.com) reported a 10 percent increase in students inquiring about distance learning degree programs. Another site, TheDegree.com (www.thedegree.com), reported the highest number of queries in its ten-year history in January 2009, and a similar increase in interest showed up at 4CollegeDegrees.com (www.4collegedegrees.com). This popularity of online degree education demonstrates how significant it is that additional assistance for higher education in a bailout plan include students in online degree universities in the U.S."
Online degree programs are quickly becoming a first choice for both young students and adult learners who want to earn a college degree to beat the recession.
More than four million people are currently enrolled in online degree programs throughout the United States, a number that continues to grow by double digits each year. TARP funding can provide both lenders and students the critical relief necessary to continue this helpful trend.
Important parts of the TARP regarding college education are an increase in Pell Grant spending and a larger subsidy for banks involved in the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program. In addition there are tax credits (not tax deductions) for students.
This $150 billion in additional funding would double the current Department of Education's current budget.
Students enrolled in online degree programs in both Associate Degree or Bachelor Degree programs are currently eligible for Pell Grants to assist in the financing of their college education. Further, many students who are engaged in online learning to earn an online college degree depend heavily on student loans to finance their education.
For more information about the wide variety of online degree programs that offer online undergraduate and graduate degree programs, visit Degree.com (www.degree.com), which provides free information about online certification programs and online programs for associates, bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees.
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