When Bilal Shah got his doctorate in computer science from the University of Southern California back in 2010, the job market wasn't exactly welcoming. "I graduated into the Great Recession. Nothing would test my mettle more," says Shah.

Around that time, he heard about a free massive online open course (MOOC) on machine learning -- a branch of artificial intelligence related to the design of certain computer algorithms -- taught by Stanford's Andrew Ng. Since Shah had plenty of spare time, he gave it a try. Every morning for three months, he sat in Peet's Coffee & Tea in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood, drinking coffee and watching lectures on his laptop. He took pop quizzes, did programming assignments and checked his work on the course's online discussion board. "It was an easy, convenient way to learn something new," notes Shah, who is in his early 30s.

Soon after getting certification from the class, he landed a job interview with ID Analytics, the San Diego-based identity fraud and credit risk modeling company. "They prodded my knowledge [of machine learning] and they could tell I knew the material well," he says. "I got the job. It was a great feeling."

Amid a sputtering recovery that has shone a spotlight on the dearth of qualified workers in particular segments of the economy, many in the business community view MOOCs as a key part of the solution. And at a time when rising college costs and growing income inequality occupy the national debate, some say the platforms that offer MOOCs could potentially transform higher education. Giving millions of students around the world access to high quality classes could help shrink the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

A number of start-ups and prominent colleges have recently gotten in on the game. Coursera, an online learning system created by Ng and Daphne Koller, both Stanford computer scientists, has partnerships with four universities: Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton. Coursera delivers MOOCs in math, science and the humanities. Udacity, another online education company, launched in February by Sebastian Thrun, a former Stanford professor, offers MOOCs mainly in computer programming and software design. Harvard and MIT recently announced edX, a joint online education partnership, which begins classes this fall.

"Higher education will change; the system is unstable," says Kevin Werbach, a Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor, who is teaching a MOOC on Coursera this summer. "It's an industry that will be in severe turmoil in the next decade. There are so many schools in distress, and the student loan burden is [huge]. In that environment, online platforms like Coursera are an interesting opportunity."

But while Coursera and others hold out the promise of bringing higher education to the masses and leveling the playing field between rich schools and those with fewer resources, some ask whether these platforms have rigorous enough curriculum standards. They question whether the credentials issued for course completion are meaningful in the job market. There is also skepticism around the sustainability of their business models since, for now at least, the classes offered by these platforms are free.

'It's a Facebook World'

Over the years, many schools have attempted online education. Fathom, Columbia University's for-profit online learning venture, shut down in 2003 just a few years after its launch. AllLearn, a similar effort backed by Yale, Princeton and Stanford, was founded in 2000 and closed in 2006.

Why might Coursera or another of the new enterprises succeed where others have failed? For one, the technology has evolved. Video and audio are crisper. Desktop sharing tools and discussion boards are easier to navigate. There is greater access to Internet libraries. Course developers also have a more nuanced understanding of how people learn online and the best ways to present information in that format. Coursera, for example, slices lectures into digestible 10- or 15-minute segments and provides online quizzes as part of each section. Professors answer questions from students in online forums. This is a vast improvement from previous online education ventures that offered a less dynamic learning model where students watched canned lectures, with no interaction.

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Can Free Online Courses Transform the Higher Education Industry?

In the decade since the explosive growth of the internet, nearly every industry has been affected, including education. Major universities as well as local community colleges now offer a myriad of classes available to students online, with some offering entire degrees that can be completed via the computer. With programs such as Blackboard and Angel, universities are able to offer all of the resources, and more, through easy to use interfaces that even those who are ill at ease with a computer can easily use.

With the advent of the internet, the number of for-profit online schools has grown exponentially, increasing even further the number of programs available to those who wish to complete their education completely through the computer.Online education is no longer just for universities anymore charter and other public-school alternatives are now offered through online learning, and public schools as well are now utilized the Virtual Classroom to offer their students highly specialized classes, without having to add additional, and expensive, staff.

Growing demand for top schools to go online

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, John Chubb and Terry Moe hail the new Harvard-MIT initiative, edX, a $60 million partnership that aims to reach millions of new international students in India, China and around the globe with the leaders of these two prestigious Cambridge talking of the revolutionary potential of online learning, hailing it as the single biggest change in education since the printing press.

Chubb and Moe also point out some of the major drawbacks pointed out by university leaders of edX: the coursework would not lead to a MIT or Harvard degree, the courses are free and prepared by some of the best professors in the nation, but there is neither revenue stream nor a business plan that will sustain it. Stanford is similarly having the same problem, how to maintain the elite and selective nature of the schools while simultaneously offering free courses anyone can take.

Online programs are still mostly seen as the purview of for-profit schools, like the University of Phoenix and Capella University, with schools such as UNC, Northeastern, Columbia, and Northwestern trying their hardest to expand into the online education realm offering their degrees to students unable to attend a traditional brick and mortar school.

Hybrid programs, which entail a mix of online education and in-class education have also become more popular, with Bill Boulding, deputy dean at Duke, saying that the schools hybrid program appeals to internationally based professionals who dont want to relocate to rural North Carolina for two years but want a Duke education.

Less money, same quality education

Online education offers a less-expensive means of getting a college degree, while also offering flexibility that many working adults require. In many cases people who otherwise would be unable to attend a traditional school, whether due to cost, job or family obligations, or the distance between where a person lives and the school they would like to attend, online learning offers them a chance to receive the education that is required to earn a living in todays global society. Online education also offers a higher education to those living in developing nations which have limited universities with prohibitively high costs, such as India and China.

The availability of high-quality, well-known graduate programs have also increased over the years with schools demanding admissions standards similar to that of their brick and mortar schools. Schools like UNC, Temple, Penn State, and the University of Florida have carefully instated extensive graduate programs, such as MBAs, that can be completed entirely online, allowing professionals such as Jamie DeMaria, an executive director for Medscape, a part of WebMD, to attend a well-known program. He believes there are no prestigiousprograms available near his hometown, thus forcing him to look online, and while the cost for UNCs program is still high at $89,000 for the two year program, it is still cheaper than the typical $98,000 price tag charged for out-of state students. By attending UNC online, he is able to further his education by getting an advanced degree while maintaining his employment with the hopes of rising up through the company following graduation.

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HOW TO: Find the Best Online Education from Top Universities

BUFFALO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) today opened its 15th Annual Snow & Ice Symposium by announcing its exciting, new online education system The Resource 24/7 Training Center allowing SIMA members to pursue official SIMA certification and continuing education from anywhere, and at any time. The 15th Annual Snow & Ice Symposium runs today through June 23, 2012 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

Off-season preparation is critical for an industry that hinges on rapid response and can make or break access for emergency responders. SIMA Certification via Resource 24/7 provides employers in the snow and ice industry with the employee training consistency to make their operation run smoothly and provide customers with the best possible service.

For property managers, using a SIMA Certified Snow Professional ensures a quality experience in snow and ice removal. For snow and ice business managers, the support for running a smooth and profitable snow and ice business remains just a few clicks away, using the SIMA Resource 24/7 system. As new techniques and technology are developed and practices streamline with new information, these industry best practices spread quickly through Resource 24/7 continuing education. The overall result is an industry that can operate with military precision to respond quickly to winter weather.

As SIMA celebrates 15 years of excellence, developing the best industry leaders in the snow and ice management industry, were proud to introduce a state-of-the-technology online classroom, explains Martin Tirado, CAE, executive director of SIMA. Our new online resources incorporate webinars, seminars, videos, documentation and more to educate to the standards of excellence for which SIMA is known. These are the men and women you want to rely on when the next big blizzard hits. Whether clearing access for hospital emergency room or clearing a parking lot to get business running again, we honor our role in creating one of the most efficient and critical of North American industries.

Resource 24/7 Available Any Time, Anywhere

The new online training and education system covers extensive online training in areas such as Administration, Ice Management, Operations, Safety & Equipment, Sales, Bidding & Marketing, Insurance, Contracts, & Legal, and Management & Leadership topics with interactive seminar and webinar resources, videos and more. In addition, Certificate and Certification program training, training kits on topics such as Snow Safety, and template contracts and forms will be available. In-depth training on topics such as contracts, operations, human resources, bidding, estimating and production will continue to raise the bar of service across North America. The new online education system can be accessed on the SIMA website at: <http://www.sima.org/resources>.

About SIMA

The Snow & Ice Management Association Inc. (SIMA) is a trade association for those who manage snow and ice. SIMA is the resource that raises awareness through networking and education.

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The Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) Opens First Online Classroom Doors for Continuing Education

Military service members and their families often face particular financial problems. Citi and CredAbility -- one of the leading nonprofit credit counseling and education agencies in the United States -- have teamed up with several veterans' service organizations to help solve the financial issues that can burden these individuals' lives.

In collaboration with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network, the groups have launched CredAbility ReConnect -- a free, online financial education and counseling program.

Bleak statistics show the need for a program to better equip veterans with tools to combat financial hardships. In 2011, the unemployment rate for veterans who have served on active duty since September 2011 was 12.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This rate is significantly higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.9% that same year. Data from Debt.org and CredAbility show that more than 25% of military families who have credit card debt carry a balance of more than $10,000 and veterans ages 29 or younger have average monthly expenses that exceed their net income by $880.

"Every member of the armed forces has sacrificed a great deal in service to their country -- and, in addition to the challenges of military service, many face tremendous financial pressures as well," said Suni Harford, Citi's Regional Head of Markets for North America in a statement. "These brave men and women receive extensive military training, but far too few of them receive any kind of formal financial education. CredAbility ReConnect was developed to help these deserving men and women build financial capability and achieve long-term economic security for themselves and their families."

The topics covered by CredAbility ReConnect are:

The financial impact of deployment -- Online courses that help families learn to manage money when a spouse is deployed. Easing the transition -- Online courses designed to help ease the financial transition for those who have recently left the military or experienced the death of a service member. Budget and credit counseling -- Easy-to-follow plans that help users better manage their money and prioritize spending. Debt management plans -- Repayment plans designed to be affordable and tailored to the individual's needs. Foreclosure prevention and home buying guidance -- For those who are behind on their mortgage payments or facing foreclosure, certified counselors provide assistance.

Individuals and families who are served by the collaborating organizations are able to access a free custom version of the online program. Members of the armed forces, veterans and their families not affiliated with these groups can access the program at http://www.CredAbility.org/recon.

This program designed for military families is new, but it is certainly not the first of its kind. Several leading credit card issuers have similar programs and benefits. For example:

Wells Fargo has the Worldwide Military Banking program, which includes benefits such as special mortgage financing plans and Small Business Administration Patriot Express loans that help members of the military community establish or expand their small businesses. Additionally, Wells Fargo offers a free online financial literacy program called Hands on Banking. Bank of America and Chase provide military families with benefits and extensive information about the transitions that can occur in those families' lives.

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Financial Education Program for Military Families Launched

Stanford is adding a social layer to its most popular class on Apple's platform.

If you are a nerd, or just an aspiring one, there are few things more fantastic on the Internet than iTunes U. One of the earlier online education initiatives, the feature -- a little corner of the broader iTunes content environment -- brings together video- and audio-recorded lectures from colleges and universities around the world. Want to learn philosophy from Oxford? Download the 41 lectures from the university's eight-week-long General Philosophy course. Curious about the history of ancient Greece? Turn Yale's lectures on that subject into podcasts that you listen to as you're doing your dishes. iTunes' education initiative is an occasionally overwhelming and often enlightening smorgasbord of digitized, customized learning.

And! The whole thing is free for users. Which means that you -- the nerd, whether current or aspiring -- can replicate the university lecture experience for pretty much any subject, for pretty much nothing save your time.

iTunes U has been great at replicating the sit-and-listen part of the college learning experience. It's been less great, however, about replicating the thing that has traditionally made the university such a great learning environment: class discussion, the lively back-and-forth that can come from the seminar setting. And it's been less great at that, of course, because it hasn't tried to be any good: iTunes U has been a clearinghouse for college lectures, and that, so far, has been more than enough.

Until today, that is. Now available on the iTunes platform is a Stanford class, "App Development for the iPhone and iPad," which allows, for the first time, interactive class discussions. The class -- to date, the most popular among Stanford's many iTunes U offerings -- will employ the course discussion infrastructure of Piazza, which Stanford has already been using as an online supplement to its in-person discussions. Students in the class -- which is still free to take -- will get to interact with each other, asking questions and working through problems.

"We're very excited to see how social intereaction and social learning will come into play," says Brent Izutsu, who oversees Stanford's course outreach efforts on platforms like iTunes U and YouTube. Stanford has been delivering content through iTunes U since 2005, and it's gleaned, over those seven years, some great data on education as it takes place online, divorced from the traditional classroom setting. What courses are people, left to their own devices, most interested in? What times of year are people most inclined to download some lectures?

The interactive elements of the new class will offer a new body of data, allowing Izutsu and other school administrators to understand not just what people choose to learn about, but how they choose to go about the learning. For one thing, "we're very interesting in seeing retention," Izutsu told me -- "seeing if people stay engaged longer because there's a cohort that they can ask questions of and interactive with." And because today's launch will repurpose Stanford's App Development lecture from Fall 2011, Izutsu and his colleagues will be able to measure -- to some degree -- the extent to which interactivity itself is a selling point for online classes. Will the course prove more appealing to people now that it's interactive? Now that you can take a class with friends -- well, "with" friends -- are you more likely to sign up for it?

An interactive App Development course is a pilot, both for Stanford and for iTunes. But the hope, Isutzu says, is eventually to expand interactivity to other courses. So, listen to Oxford's philosophy lecture, then argue about the categorial imperative with fellow course-takers. Or discuss the plays of Aeschylus. Or try to outwit your friends in game theory.

This kind of social integration, says Pooja Sankar, Piazza's founder and CEO, is the next logical step of the digital education revolution. Services like iTunes U -- and TED-ED, and Udacity, and all the many, many other platforms that are slowly transforming how we think about learning -- have already gotten the content thing down. As of January 2012, iTunes U had seen 700 million downloads of its educational content, Sankar told me. The stuff of learning -- the lectures, the course materials, the instructional videos, the explanatory songs, the syllabi -- is already out there. The next challenge, she believes, will be figuring out how to make all that stuff social. "How do you take all that content that's out there -- that's being hosted by multiple parties -- and create engagement around it?"

"It's amazing how much learning can happen when you let students interact with one another -- and learn together, rather than learn in isolation," Sankar says. "It really makes all the difference."

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Nerds of the World, Unite! iTunes U Just Got Interactive

National Guitar Workshop Is Proud To Announce: National Guitar Workshop: Online

Beginning July 15th the National Guitar Workshop will offer ten popular courses online.

National Guitar Workshop is announcing its newest innovation in music education, NGW Online. This new online program will feature 10 courses with over 150 hours of class time.

This summer, for the first time, the National Guitar Workshop will be conducting online lessons. Enrollment for online courses begins in June, classes will be available for viewing July 15th through November 1st. Students will be able to take one or all ten classes offered this summer for the same low price. All classes are recorded at the Connecticut location and are posted the day they happen. Students can ask questions just like in a physical classroom. Questions asked during the on campus dates will be answered by the NGW faculty in the next days session.

Students will have access to ALL ten classes for enrollment fee of $149.

Courses being offered online this summer include: Brazilian Guitar Exploration The Big Class of Jazz Improvisation Blues You Can Use Jazz Summit Guitar Beatles Boot Camp Rockn Beyond Classic Rock Icons Unleash the Fury Beyond Acoustic Guitar Gods of the 70s

Since 1984 over 25,000 students have traveled to our campuses to take classes with our incredible faculty. Now we can make our program much more accessible and affordable by bringing it online. - David Smolover, founder.

To find out more about NGW Online call 800-234-6479.

For over 28 years, The National Guitar Workshop strives to create an educational and collaborative atmosphere for students and teachers alike. NGW has delivered the finest in music education to guitarists, bassists, keyboardists and drummers throughout the world, with an acclaimed faculty that includes some of the most soughtafter professional musicians in every style of music. NGW maintains campuses and programs in New Milford and Norwich, Connecticut; Austin, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and Bigfork, Montana. The 2012 roster of Guest Artists includes; Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, John Abercrombie, Tosin Abasi, Antonio Sanchez, Duke Robillard, John Patitucci, Larry Grenadier, Adrian Legg, Guthrie Govan, Romero Lubambo, and Doug Aldrich.

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EDUCATION: National Guitar Workshop Announces Online Courses

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Gale, part of Cengage Learning and a leading publisher of research and reference resources for libraries, schools and businesses, today announced a new program, ed2go for public libraries, that brings turnkey online training and education solutions to the public library market. ed2go, also part of Cengage Learning, provides online training courses for the adult education, career, and corporate training markets through partnerships with colleges, universities, community-based organizations and now through public libraries.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070724/NYTU125 )

"The mission of many public libraries is to inspire lifelong learning among patrons," said Gerry Sawchuk, publisher, public library solutions for Gale. "With ed2go courses designed specifically for this diverse audience, we are equipping public libraries with the tools to do just that."

The ed2go for public libraries program, developed as a result of Cengage Learning's unique position within the library, classroom and adult learning markets, will offer patrons access to hundreds of instructor-led online courses covering everything from health and wellness to digital photography, computer programming, GED test preparation and much more. ed2go courses are developed by expert instructors, many currently working at universities around the country, and use Cengage Learning's proven pedagogy to ensure classes are engaging and informative. Each individual course is offered online for six weeks and features 12 lessons with online discussions, homework, quizzes and a final exam. Though these are not college equivalent courses, certificate programs are available for careers in the medical field, project management and computer networking.

ed2go for public libraries features a subscription model designed specifically for libraries librarians purchase access to a catalog of ed2go courses which are then offered free to patrons, who can select specific courses to enroll in. Libraries in turn get robust product administration and usage reporting capabilities enabling the easy tracking of successful patron outcomes.

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System recently piloted the ed2go program as part of its eCampus initiative to address lifelong learning in its community and deliver workforce development resources, programs and services. The results have been highly successful.

"Our goal was to find online resources that could serve a wide community base with varied learning needs. Through our strategic partnerships with organizations like Cengage Learning, we've been able to offer exciting and user-friendly digital tools, like ed2go, to our community," said Juree Hall, eCampus Project Coordinator, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. "The positive feedback and growth in enrollments shows we're on the right track."

For more information on ed2go for public libraries or to request a trial, please visit http://www.gale.cengage.com/ed2go or contact Kristina Massari at kristina.massari@cengage.com. You can also learn more about this innovative program and Atlanta-Fulton's success at the Gale booth (#1400) on the exhibit floor of the American Library Association annual meeting in Anaheim, California June 22-25.

About Cengage Learning and GaleCengage Learning is a leading provider of innovative teaching, learning and research solutions for the academic, professional and library markets worldwide. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, serves the world's information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs from homework help to health questions to business profiles in a variety of formats. For more information, visit http://www.cengage.com or http://www.gale.cengage.com.

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Gale Supports Lifelong Learning with New Online Education Program for Public Library Patrons

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPEbXS-p2C0

18-06-2012 09:15 Discusses how online learning provides flexibility and 24/7 accessibility, fits within a busy schedule, and the need for time management.

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Learning On Your Time - Video

HAWTHORNE, N.Y., June 18, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartPros Ltd. (SPRO), a leader in the field of accredited professional education and corporate training, and Villanova University's College of Engineering, ranked in the top 10 engineering schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, today announced an agreement for SmartPros' Engineering division to distribute Villanova's online, self-paced PE Review Course in Power for Electrical Engineers.

Villanova College of Engineering offers a one-of-a-kind PE Review Course in Power for Electrical Engineers and is the most comprehensive online PE review course in electrical power in the country. The PE Review Course in Power for Electrical Engineers will be integrated into SmartPros' Engineering eCampus(TM), which allows a learner to access course lectures, examples, problems and solutions, as well as customize the lectures to their own learning style and needs. The course has over 100 hours of online learning created by Dr. Frank Mercede, PE, member of the Villanova faculty, who is well known in the electrical power profession as a consultant, designer and educator.

"Villanova College of Engineering is recognized as a leader in engineering education and a pioneer in advancing online education not only in the U.S., but worldwide. We believe that teaming with Villanova to distribute their online PE Review Course in Power for Electrical Engineers emphasizes our commitment to providing world-class engineering professional education," said Allen Greene, SmartPros' Chairman and CEO. "We feel that Villanova's online review course will fit in well with our other leading online PE review courses, and help serve the growing demand for the electrical engineering PE designation."

Villanova's PE Review Course in Power for Electrical Engineers is immediately available for any individual or engineering firm looking for a quality, time-efficient, and cost-effective method to prepare for the PE exam.

"Villanova is proud to become a partner with SmartPros," said Jeff Schwarz, Director of E-Learning, Villanova University, College of Engineering. "We feel that their model and format will be an excellent platform for our electrical PE review content. We believe that this will be a valuable tool for members of the engineering community."

"We feel that offering the Villanova electrical PE review course is a logical step to addressing the growing continuing education needs of the electrical engineering, utilities, energy and green engineering markets," said Mark Luciano, Vice President of SmartPros Engineering. "It fits well with our new Engineering eCampus(TM) Learning Management System strategy to offer enterprise-wide learning solutions to the engineering community."

SmartPros Engineering offers FE and PE review courses in civil, electrical, mechanical, environmental and chemical engineering in a variety of learning formats in both online or self-study guides, as well as online continuing education for PDH credits. SmartPros' engineering education is available today at http://www.engineering.smartpros.com.

About Villanova College of Engineering

The Villanova University, College of Engineering, began instruction in 1905 under the name of the School of Technology. It was the fourth engineering program to be established at a Catholic school of higher education in the United States (after The Catholic University of America, 1896, Manhattan College, 1896, and the University of Notre Dame, 1897). The major goal of a Villanova engineering education is: "To provide students with the opportunity to develop a greater technical competence in the chosen area of study." The engineering faculty strives to develop a professional attitude in students; namely, the desire to grow intellectually through the continual search for and use of knowledge, and the motivation to become active, articulate and socially aware citizens. The College of Engineering is committed to its responsibility to develop, collect and disseminate new knowledge in the engineering field and related areas. The College of Engineering offers disciplines in the fields of chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. Our Undergraduate Program offers bachelor degrees in all five disciplines. Our Five-Year Program offers combined bachelor and master's degrees in all 5 disciplines as well as Water Resources, Environmental Engineering, and Sustainable Engineering. Our Graduate Program offers master's degrees in all five disciplines as well as Water Resources and Environmental Engineering. Our Doctoral Program offers a Ph.D. in Engineering. Research/thesis topics are based upon the mutual interest of the student and their faculty advisor. Example areas of study include: Thermal Management of Electronics, Robotic and Electromechanical Systems, Automotive Systems, Signal Processing, Radar, Communications Systems, Environmental Protection, and Biotechnology. Our Distance Education Program offers four full online degrees as well as two online certificates.

About Dr. Frank Mercede, P.E.

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SmartPros(R) Announces Agreement With Villanova University's College of Engineering to Distribute an Online PE Review ...

Leading online education portal offers free e-books on college planning and pursuing a career after graduation

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IndiaEducation.com, Indias largest online education portal, has published the first two installments of its new ongoing series of college- and career-focused e-books. Both the "Complete 2012 Guide to Colleges and Universities in India" and the Complete 2012 Guide to Starting a Career in India or Abroad e-books are free and available for instant download.

Whether youre a student with well-defined goals or someone who doesnt know where to begin, our new e-books provide an excellent starting point

India has an estimated 144 million adults between 18 and 23 years old, the target age group for higher education. Although many of these young men and women pass their XII standard exams, few submit college applications. According to the Institute for Integrated Rural Development (IIRD), in 2011, only 12.4 percent of secondary students across India attended college despite the country's more than 26,000 postsecondary institutions.

"Planning for college and a career are big decisions in a young persons life, shared Nina Bhanap, spokesperson for IndiaEducation.com. Being able to provide high quality, accurate and timely resources and materials to assist students and graduates is just one way that we can help with the process.

Highlights from the college and career e-books:

Whether youre a student with well-defined goals or someone who doesnt know where to begin, our new e-books provide an excellent starting point, said Bhanap. Ultimately, we hope to be an online resource that is not only reliable, but also informative and beneficial for our visitors.

For more information on these e-books, including the site's next e-book entitled "The 2012 Beginner's Guide to Online Education," visit IndiaEducation.com and follow @NNEindia on Twitter and Facebook.

About IndiaEducation.com

IndiaEducation.com is part of the National Network of Education (NNE), one of Indias largest online education portals. IndiaEducation.com is the definitive source for XI and XII standard exam results and provides education news, alerts and guidance to current and future college students in India and abroad. IndiaEducation.com is owned and operated by QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: QNST), one of the largest Internet marketing and media companies in the world. QuinStreet is committed to providing consumers and businesses with the information they need to research, find and select the products, services and brands that meet their needs. The company is a leader in visitor-friendly marketing practices. For more information, please visit QuinStreet.com.

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IndiaEducation.com Launches Free e-Book Series for College Students and New Graduates