eLearners.com, a resource for connecting students with online education, announced today it has forged a relationship with BusinessWeek Online to power an online education directory for its users.

The directory offers a comprehensive database of information on distance learning opportunities, including online courses, degrees and certificate programs in the information technology and business fields.

The new online course and degree directory on BusinessWeek Online enables visitors to search eLearners.com’s extensive database of over 6,000 online courses, and 1,700 online degree and certificate programs.

Through eLearners.com, BusinessWeek Online visitors can search for programs of interest by a variety of criteria, including curriculum, degree level, course level and more, and in turn receive rich, transparent and objective information about distance learning opportunities.

Additionally, the online education directory will feature the eLearners Advisor®, a unique assessment tool that helps prospective students determine if online learning is right for them through a series of targeted questions ranging from technology access and skills, to personal motivation and learning style.

U.S. online higher education is booming. Eduventures, a research and consulting firm, estimates that, at the close of 2005, approximately 1.2 million unique students were taking fully online higher education programs (the vast majority enrolled in online degree programs), up an estimated 28% over the previous year.

The most recent report from the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) estimates a total of 2.35 million unique students taking at least one online course in fall 2004. This represents a year-over-year growth rate of 18.2%.