I was taking up a program in electronics and communications engineering here in Salamanca leading to a bachelor’s degree. But believe me, I didn’t take it in a classroom setting. I took it in an online school – meaning, I enrolled myself in an online school based in Massachusetts. And they took me in even when I’m Spanish. Yes, online schools are now global nowadays. They are not biased towards citizens of the country they are based. And so here I am having an electronics and communications engineering degree from a foreign institution.

And miraculously enough, I was able to secure a permit to take the board exam here in Spain. And I passed. Now, I’m an employee of the leading telecommunications firm here in Spain. Actually, online schools are reputable especially if they are based in the United States. Just be wary of those bogus schools which cannot present you a diploma or a certificate after graduation. Even then, your certificates or diplomas may not be honored by the body or by the government in the country that you are living in.

But regarding the globalization of these online schools – whether you’re living in the Philippines or in New Zealand – you can definitely enroll in these online schools. And the catch is tuition at these online schools is even cheaper than enrolling in a regular university in your area. That’s because you don’t pay for laboratory and other expensive miscellaneous fees. Look, even if the school that you’re enrolling in is based in New England or New Orleans, you will still pay the same tuition but with a far superior quality of education than being provided with an expensive, third-rate college in the Solomon Islands for example.

I do not mean to berate other countries but let us face it – United States has the most excellent standard of education in contemporary society. And another rub is that you will still have the same prospectus to be followed for the five academic years in the college. The program leading to a bachelor’s degree in electronic and communications engineering for example has a total of ten academic semesters to undergo and you need to renew your tuition for each of these semesters. Just like a regular college, tuition is computed through the number of units that you will be taking.

Another advantage of an online college is that hands-on training will also be online. You will be introduced to the best engineering software that is exclusive for students only and cannot be accessed by those studying in regular universities in your area. You will also have time to relax as students in online institutions have their own time of the day to comply with the requirements of the online school. I mean, you don’t have to be online at 7 a.m. You can wake up at 9 a.m. and as long as you have logged in and comply the requirements for a particular academic day, then you are free to do whatever you wish. Don’t take online studies for granted though. It is serious. Your online evaluator will definitely flunk you if you’re not that diligent.