I'm having great trouble understanding why the length of the course is not considered critical. I am referring to the 4th question of the first quiz. "Which of these is not critical to successful online learning? Answer: A Instructor support B E-learning being the student's preferred mode of learning C Readily available technical support D Duration of the course I chose B. I can't see how that is a factor unless the student actually hates the Internet. Even then, I don't see why a student can't learn in an environment that he does not like. As proof, I offer any high school in America. Most students would prefer not to be there, and yet they learn. The correct answer is D which means that the duration of the course is not critical to successful online learning. If the duration of the course is not critical, why not just cut each course in half? On the other hand, why not double the length of the course? I'll tell you why you wouldn't do that. If you cut the course length, you cannot cover the subject in depth, and if you double the length, your enrollment will drop substantially. Our school faces the second problem. Our field offers very high salaries, but it takes a loooong time to graduate a student. We lose students and prospective students because the length of the course is daunting. The students who withdraw are sometimes our best students. They just don't want to face years of schooling. They have the physical and mental tools that are needed. They just don't have the stamina to devote the amount of time necessary when they can go down the road and enroll in a much shorter course. Personally, I can teach anybody who wants to learn, even if E-learning isn't their preferred mode of learning. But I can't teach anybody who loses interest or drive. The duration of the course will always be our most critical factor. Our school meetings revolve around how to graduate students faster. Show me how to cut 20 percent off of our courses, and I will graduate 4 times as many students. Cut it by half, and I will graduate perhaps 15 or 20 times our present graduation rate.