Nearly everyone is aware that American higher education has been financially challenged over the last five years and is now struggling with trying to make ends meet without the same levels of funding it used to enjoy. The lack of funds for public colleges and universities has resulted in rising 
debts, deferred maintenance, fewer course offerings, reduced student and faculty services, and the loss of staff to private universities that pay higher salaries. The natural balance of delivering a high-quality education has been upended by rising costs and the lack of funds to meet them, and priorities have been rearranged as campus administrators try to juggle the multiple forces behind the changes. It is not surprising that many public colleges and universities are now resorting to raising their tuition as a result of the pressures, and today the average cost of higher education tuition has risen to almost 40 percent of median annual earnings.
debts, deferred maintenance, fewer course offerings, reduced student and faculty services, and the loss of staff to private universities that pay higher salaries. The natural balance of delivering a high-quality education has been upended by rising costs and the lack of funds to meet them, and priorities have been rearranged as campus administrators try to juggle the multiple forces behind the changes. It is not surprising that many public colleges and universities are now resorting to raising their tuition as a result of the pressures, and today the average cost of higher education tuition has risen to almost 40 percent of median annual earnings.Unfortunately, the funding available for higher education does not look like it will ever return to pre-2007 levels and many economists are predicting that financing will continue to decrease to the point where many American colleges and universities will be forced to close their doors for good. Many different responses to the budget crunch have been proposed as enrollments continue to decline and overall student debt has reached over a trillion dollars.
Offering more online classes is one way many universities are now using to try to find a way out of the mess they are in. Online education is outpacing traditional enrollment now that it has been proven capable of providing an education that meets or exceeds the education received by on-campus students and more online undergraduate programs are expected to be available over the next decade. Unfortunately, a quality online education doesn’t include all of the benefits of a traditional school when it comes to the tangible, physical assets of a brick and mortar school. This is especially true when it comes to the many sports teams, playing fields, gyms and training facilities that a traditional education can offer. Although online education allows universities to shrink their costs and extend their programs to more students at a lower cost, Web-based learning does not always measure up when it comes to the health and fitness-related activities and programs.
Although online coursework may not be the perfect solution to cover all of the costs of education, it could improve the economic health of any public college and university that can integrate the increasing costs of maintaining a proper emphasis on health and fitness at the same time. Online classes now allow a school to deliver an equal quality education on paper. When they can fully address a student’s physical needs in the gym too, is when they will be truly equal in the real world.