Cuts on campus: Will students go online?

New York. Michigan. California. Georgia. All across the country, there's been a steady drumbeat of announcements detailing grim cuts to public higher education budgets at the state level. Class sections have been cut, buildings shuttered, instructors laid off. To prevent further catastrophe, many universities - notably those in the California State University system, which has more than 400,000 students - have had to hike fees and tuition, in some cases by more than 30 percent.

Throughout March, students and educators were protesting these cuts on campuses or at their state capitals in an effort to raise public awareness. While some state legislatures began to cast about for ways to restore some educational funding (hopefully without having to raise taxes), the slow pace of economic recovery means that many schools will probably have to go without for the time being.

Here are some of the effects cuts are having around the country:

Support staff layoffs: In a bid to save academic programs from cuts for as long as possible, some colleges are slashing support staff positions, such as receptionists, computer support technicians, custodial staff and counselors. The University of California at Davis, for instance, cut dedicated departmental IT support staff in favor of creating a smaller centralized support team that serves all departments.

Class sections cut: City College of San Francisco is one school that pared back academic offerings to stay afloat. The school, with about 100,000 students, cut 625 class sections in recent years. This is especially unfortunate during a recession. Historically, college enrollments grow during times of economic hardship, as people try to refresh their professional skill sets or train for new career opportunities. The Sloan Consortium's yearly survey of higher education professionals, for instance, found most universities reported increased demand for existing courses and new courses.

Scaling back the number of meeting times for a course can have a negative impact on students. They're more likely to encounter conflicts of schedule when signing up for required courses. This can cause students to have to stay in school for an extra semester, dragging out the amount of time it takes to complete their degree. Or it can impact their ability to maintain full- or part-time student status -- often a requirement for receiving certain types of financial aid.

Cuts to grants and scholarships: When their funding is cut, many universities find they have to suspend, downsize or eliminate institutionally-supported student scholarships and grants. And state aid can dry up, as well. In Michigan, students lost the chance to supplement their financial aid packages with the Michigan Promise Scholarship, which was eliminated by the state legislature for 2009-2010. In New Jersey, proposed budget cuts of $173 million threaten Tuition Aid Grants for incoming freshmen, as well as other grant programs.

The online alternative

If you're frustrated by cuts to your local university's course offerings, you may be able to find an online college degree program. No institution is completely immune to hard times, but many land-based campuses are struggling to deal with the fallout from the recession while online education outlets continue to grow. "Learning On Demand," The Sloan Consortium's yearly survey of trends in online higher education, found that online enrollments rose by 17 percent from 2007-2008 to 2008-2009, far outpacing the overall higher education enrollment growth of 1.2 percent. In fact, more than 25 percent of college students took at least one online course during the 2008-2009 school year.

Prospective students whose motivation for attending college is career-focused may especially benefit from online learning's uniquely flexible format. While online students still need to work hard to earn their degrees, they can fit their weekly study time around other commitments, allowing them to work or care for family members while they learn.

This article is presented by AIU Online, the online education outlet of American InterContinental University. Find out more about AIU's career-focused online degree programs by visiting www.aiuonline.edu. (AIU does not guarantee employment or salary. Financial aid is available to those who qualify.)

Courtesy of ARAcontent