Working toward a college degree can be challenging, but with the added convenience of online classes, earning a degree is now more accessible than ever.
In Ohio for instance, 22.2% of students were enrolled in exclusively online courses in 2023, and 33% were enrolled in at least one.
Currently at Kent State University, 68% of undergraduate students and 63% of graduate students are taking at least one fully online course.
Kent State offers 90 fully online degree and certificate programs. From associate to bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, the university provides its nationally distinctive academics completely online.
The national trend of fully online enrollment has been decreasing since the pandemic, but Kent State’s online programs are bucking those trends.
Val Kelly, associate vice president of Kent State Online, told Kent State Today that online classes at Kent State have significantly increased over the years with about one-third of academic credit hours being taken online by students.
During the Fall 2024 Semester, 2,863 students enrolled in a fully online program at Kent State, an increase of nearly 1,000 in the past five years.
Why are these online programs seeing significant increases in credit hours and enrollments?
“I think one of the big things is just flexibility and scheduling for learners,” Kelly said. “Our programs are designed to fit the schedules of working professionals, parents and adult learners, offering the asynchronous coursework that allows students to complete assignments at their own convenience all while maintaining their personal and professional responsibilities.”
Currently, the undergraduate program with the most enrollments is the Bachelor of Business Administration in General Business, with 311 students working toward this degree.
Sonia Alemagno, Ph.D., dean of the College of Public Health, said the online public health program was one of the first programs to go fully online and has been very popular with students.
The College of Public Health has been recognized by Fortune in its list of Best Online Master’s in Public Health (MPH) Programs for 2025 as its online MPH program is ranked #10 in the country.
“Students are very happy with the program because it has a structure called ‘Quality Matters,’” Alemagno said. “It is an actual designation that courses and programs can get and certifies the quality, so that is important to students.”
For anyone considering earning a degree fully online, Alemagno said try taking some online courses to see how it works for you as everyone learns differently.
“My advice is for students to figure out what works best for them,” Alemagno said. “The best thing we can do is give students the options; do it all online, all in person, some online or some in person. Give them every opportunity to be successful.”
The wide variety of degree programs, both undergraduate and graduate, give students the opportunity to earn a degree fully online and cater to the different motivations of students.
Some of the in-demand master’s programs include the Master of Library and Information Science program, the Master of Science in Nursing program and the Master of Public Health program.
The flexibility of Kent State Online means students can take advantage of it from anywhere in the world.
Take Jennifer Moxley, who lives in Metz, France, and completed her master’s degree in translation, specifically French to English, solely online.
“The reason why I chose an online program instead of a program in France is because I have been hesitating on whether or not I want to return to the United States,” she said.
Through Moxley’s online program, she was able to reap the benefits of this form of schooling without having to leave France.
“What I was pleasantly surprised about the online program was the communication between the other students,” Moxley said. “I met some people from Saudi Arabia, from Italy, from Russia, so it was interesting to build a community even though we were all in different parts of the world.”
Regardless of students taking fully or partially online classes or programs, Kelly wants students to know that Kent State Online is committed to improving its quality of content.
“We continue to develop,” she said. “Every year we continue to make online courses and continue to refine and redo or improve the courses that exist.”
Learn more about Kent State Online.
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