If you want the truth about online university education, don’t ask administrators. They have obvious, unstated, reasons to adore it. Just ask students. They also adore it, but they tell you why.
From an article in a University of Texas newspaper about why online courses are so popular with students:
… Maura Ryan, a third-year UT Journalism major, [says,] “The lack of lectures makes online classes less educational. You really are teaching yourself the material so you aren’t able to get the expertise of a professor besides talking to him over email.”
Ryan confirms what many UT students regard as common sense — that online classes really are “so much easier than live.” Her current Psychology of Advertising class is “a lot less time” than her face-to-face classes, and consists of “really short lectures where everything is on PowerPoint.”
University faculty are also expressing concern. As student demand for online courses skyrockets, the level of faculty approval of this educational option remains low.
[A recent] report pointed out that less than one-third of chief academic officers believe their faculty accept the value and legitimacy of online education, a statistic that has been constant over the past six years.
About a third of contributing academic officers admitted that they believe that online learning outcomes are inferior to their live counterparts.
Public schools have a greater percentage of students enrolled in online classes than private institutions. They also express a higher level of confidence in these courses. In schools with more than 15,000 students, 61.3 percent of chief academic officers rated online learning outcomes as equal to face-to-face outcomes.
With one in four current college students taking at least one Internet course, online education programs are becoming a critical long-term strategy to many public schools. [Keep movin’ movin’ movin’ – Though they’re disapprovin’ – Keep them doggies movin’…]
Sarah Frankoff is a senior Broadcast Journalism major who cites UT’s long list of required courses as a reason for using an online option to complete her foreign language requirement.
After trying to take a live Spanish course at UT, Sarah decided it was “way too difficult and time consuming,” and is now in an online course because Spanish is “not a priority” in her field of study. “I think online classes are a great way to get less important courses out of the way.”
UT Extension’s website touts the possibility of completing the Business Foundations Certificate or completing prerequisites online as benefits of online learning. They cite today’s economy as a reason to get ahead with online learning. [Gt yr diploma qwik! Tday! Y wait?]