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Have you considered an online degree?

New offerings make online degrees an option students should consider.

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The website of Saudi Arabia's Saudi Electronic University is shown in this screenshot taken Oct. 30, 2014. — Saudi Electronic University

What if you could attend classes on your own schedule, day or night, without ever having to leave the comfort of your home?

With the explosion of online programs in recent years, distance education is becoming an increasingly attractive proposition for many would-be undergraduates, especially those who have jobs or family to take care of. Some education experts even see e-learning as the future for a region where young people far outnumber the available seats at brick-and-mortar universities.

Online programs are still in their infancy, however, so some employers don’t know what to make of degrees that don’t come from traditional schools. E-university programs also vary widely in terms of both quality and requirements, so make sure to do plenty of research about accreditation, graduation and employment rates, and workload expectations before signing up.

Broadly speaking, the Arab world offers three main types of online education.

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