Are you feeling the pain at the pump? I know I am and it’s a not just high gas price, that’s tough enough, but it is all other price increases as a result of the surge of gas prices. We definitely need a revamped Energy Policy that pays specific homage to alternative sources of energy. I know we have it better than most other countries, but it is hard to believe with all the ingenuity, technology, and “brain trust” in this country that we are still so dependent on foreign oil. I know I am not the brightest guy in the world but this just does not make any sense to me. It’s interesting that I just read an article on Foxnews.com that GM will begin producing the “Volt”, an electric car. My hat is off to them. Maybe they will stop their financial bleeding by cutting production of SUV’s and closing SUV production facilities and replacing them with a production ramp up of electric cars?
What does make sense to me, in the space that I occupy, is online learning is a viable option for those who are seeking to continue their education, especially commuter students, but don’t want the hassles or travel costs associated with doing so. Coinciding with this is another interesting development that I know which is that higher gas prices have community college students, in my backyard of Virginia, changing their habits.
“More and more of our students are opting to do distance learning courses which means they can take the classes from home,” George Gabriel, vice president for advancement at Northern Virginia Community College, said in a recent article.
Annual growth on distance learning programs is 12 to 15 percent, he says. Last year, about 14,000 students took distance learning classes. NOVA now offers more than 100 such classes.
At NOVA, some campuses have moved to a two-day a week class schedule from a three-day schedule. Classes that had been on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are now on Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays.
Get this - another interesting development to try to save on commuting time and gas is that NOVA will let staffers work for 10-hour shifts four days a week between June 2 to Aug. 8.