Unemployment rates are soaring, and jobs are in high demand. More and more people are turning back to traditional and online college degree programs to help them gain a more competitive edge in their search to maintain their family’s income. Unfortunately, though, this just isn’t possible for everyone.

What do you do if you’ve been out of a job for a couple of months, and you’re already facing foreclosure or eviction from your home because you can’t pay the rent or the mortgage? How are you going to afford getting a loan and going back to school? Banks are having enough difficulty lending to people with good credit, and people in these situations don’t have good credit.

Neither brick and mortar nor online degree universities are anxious to offer student loans to people who don’t have jobs or are already facing bankruptcy because of credit issues. Furthermore, most people rarely keep the cash on hand to pay tuition for a university degree program. How are the tens of thousands of people who desperately need the benefit of a traditional or online Bachelor Degree program going to be able to afford to go back to school?

President-Elect Barack Obama offers some hope for resolving the educational crisis. His plan includes assessing what areas of the nation’s economy are most vulnerable to future job cutbacks. He then intends to offer tuition assistance to workers in these career positions, so that they can get further education or vocational training before they lose their jobs.

Accredited online university degree programs offer threatened workers a perfect opportunity to return to school and earn a college degree at home without quitting their jobs or cutting back their hours. These individuals can continue earning an income and providing for their families by preparing for a potentially involuntary career change. Furthermore, they don’t have to spend all of their time away from their family commuting to and from a traditional university campus.

Obama has also advocated the development of flexible education spending accounts for employees. People would be able to budget a certain percentage of their regular paycheck to set aside for college tuition payments. They could then use this money to pay for traditional or online degree courses that would help to improve their chances of success in the job market.

These accounts may be very similar to the flexible spending accounts already designated by many employers for healthcare and childcare expenses. Most of these accounts are tax-free, so employees would be able to set aside education money without being taxed on this income. Offering this tax break saves more money than merely receiving a tax deduction for a portion of the tuition expense.

The economic future is uncertain, but one thing is sure. Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign promised major reforms in education, taxes, and many other areas of the U.S. Economy. The next few months will be interesting, and change is sorely needed. Let’s all hope that these major changes will be for the better!

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