Continuing Education is a necessity for agents today. Not only do states mandate a measure of hours an agent must complete in order to retain their license, but it is also important with regards to staying ahead of the competition and up to date on trends, regulations, and business best practices.
Sure, you have your product to sell, relationships to nurture, and customer service to provide, however having a superior underlying education of your industry will help set you apart from the crowd.
Online and classroom study are the most popular and utilized forms of continuing education, however some prefer events, seminars, and even CE cruises. Today, we’ll look at online vs. classroom.
· Online
o Pros
§ Study at your own pace
§ Study when it’s convenient for you
§ Complete course work from home, work, or while traveling
§ Ability to start and stop at your discretion
§ Students become more internet savvy, by virtue of the fact one must use the medium to study
§ Ability to reference external resources (Wikipedia, etc.) while studying
§ It’s better for the environment – No travel to school & little or no paper
§ Often times its cheaper than classroom courses
o Cons
§ Little or no interaction with an instructor
§ Deadlines are self governed
§ Technology glitches may interrupt progress
§ Support may be delayed, given time zones & availability
§ Little or no paper reference materials for future use
· Classroom
o Pros
§ Direct instruction from an instructor
§ Peer tutoring
§ Being present in a definitive learning environment
§ Solid deadlines
§ Classroom debate
o Cons
§ Not working well with the instructor or classmates
§ Classes being offered at times that are not convenient
§ Inability to learn and be critiqued, by doing
§ Requires a commute
Certainly, each of these points needs to be considered when selecting an online or classroom education provider. Have you fulfilled your mandatory hours for the year? Might you and your business benefit from a refresher to bring you skills up to speed?
Continuing Education is a necessity for agents today. Not only do states mandate a measure of hours an agent must complete in order to retain their license, but it is also important with regards to staying ahead of the competition and up to date on trends, regulations, and business best practices.
Sure, you have your product to sell, relationships to nurture, and customer service to provide, however having a superior underlying education of your industry will help set you apart from the crowd.
Online and classroom study are the most popular and utilized forms of continuing education, however some prefer events, seminars, and even CE cruises. Today, we’ll look at online vs. classroom.
Online - Pros
- Study at your own pace
- Study when it’s convenient for you
- Complete course work from home, work, or while traveling
- Ability to start and stop at your discretion
- Students become more internet savvy, by virtue of the fact one must use the medium to study
- Ability to reference external resources (Wikipedia, etc.) while studying
- It’s better for the environment – No travel to school & little or no paper
- Often times its cheaper than classroom courses
Online – Cons
- Little or no interaction with an instructor
- Deadlines are self governed
- Technology glitches may interrupt progress
- Support may be delayed, given time zones & availability
- Little or no paper reference materials for future use
Classroom - Pros
- Direct instruction from an instructor
- Peer tutoring
- Being present in a definitive learning environment
- Solid deadlines
- Classroom debate
Classroom – Cons
- Not working well with the instructor or classmates
- Classes being offered at times that are not convenient
- Inability to learn and be critiqued, by doing
- Requires a commute
Certainly, each of these points needs to be considered when selecting an online or classroom education provider. Have you fulfilled your mandatory hours for the year? Might you and your business benefit from a refresher to bring you skills up to speed?
*About the author: Aaron Loring Davis is the Chief Technology Officer of InternetCE.com, a national leader in professional continuing education. *
Internet CE is a leading national provider of Insurance Continuing Education courses. Our insurance and continuing education experts have taught 1,000,000′s of continuing education hours, helping students complete their insurance CE and license renewal requirements for over 18 years.
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Satisfy CE needs in live classes or online
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Your state automatically notified of course completion
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Online profile with course completion records you can print, email, and share
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Never a retake fee
Our goal is to provide agents with accredited, engaging, and convenient continuing education. If you are not 100% satisfied…we’ll make it right.
Internet CE provides dynamic coursework covering topics relevant to the modern Life Insurance Agent, Accident and Health Insurance Agent, Property and Casualty Insurance Agent, Property Adjuster, Bail Bondsman, and Funeral Home Director