GREENSBORO – Whether they’re juggling the demands of a job, caring for children or caring for parents, nontraditional students can find it hard to make it to a university campus.

So – because about 80% of its students work full- or part-time – UNC Greensboro has vastly expanded online course offerings both for nontraditional students and for students on campus.

Dr. Karen Bull, Dean of UNCG Online, says in the accompanying video that 20 years ago, UNCG had just 30 online students and added 14 online courses. Now it has more than 650 online courses and more than 40 online programs.

“We’ve really expanded that reach for students to provide them with many opportunities to achieve those goals,” Bull says.

It’s not just remote students who take advantage of online courses – they also offer flexibility to students who live on campus. About 6,000 on-campus students – 30% of the student population – also take courses online.

“It’s offering them flexibility to meet the demands of, potentially, work or extracurricular activities that they may be involved in, community service,” Bull says.

“So we find that these courses are great for not just those that are at a distance, but those that are on campus and need some flexibility in their schedule.”