In the hustle and bustle of today’s world, do online courses make life easier? Do traditional classes help those new to college courses understand their instructors’ expectations?
The increasing number of students taking online courses would suggest that online courses are beneficial in some ways. According to the 2011 study Going the Distance: Online Education in the USA (Allen & Seaman, 2011), Students in online enrollments have grown by 358% and within that, one third of students are taking at least one course online. The National Center for Education Statistics reported the number of students in 2021 that were enrolled in at least one course online was up to 61%.
Talking with students about their personal perspectives on online courses, the consensus was that while there are some cons to skipping the classroom most benefit from the flexibility of online courses. Justin Steel, a Bowling Green Alumnus (age 34 during school), said that “The difficulties of online courses would be internet access, [Poor weather, power outages] … but the pros would outweigh with the flexibility to work full-time and deal with life’s unexpected surprises.”
On the downside to skipping the in-person experience of the traditional classroom is the ability to have real time discussions with any questions or troubles met in the coursework. The article The Expanding Landscape of Online Education: Who Engages and How They Fare says, “Overall students were both more likely to earn As and more likely to fail in online courses compared to in-person courses, but semester GPAs were higher in terms of when students took at least one class online than when they took all in-person classes. Importantly, taking higher shares of courses online is associated with increased degree completion with the largest benefits for younger students and male students.”
When talking with a current student at Owens Community College McKayla Orner (age 21), she discussed the lure of online courses to maximize her time management efficiently. Miss Orner says, “With the demands of my current life, such as work and social expectations, I find it easier to take online courses. It works for me because I can plan my homework around my weekly schedule; however, I do find some of the courses harder to complete online, for example math.”
After interviewing a student from an older generation and a newer generation the question is still, are online courses better suited to traditional?
Miss Orner has taken classes in the traditional way, and she said that the pressure to physically be on campus and outside anxieties weighed in on her ability to be a successful student. Orner stated, “Adjusting to college is hard in itself, everything is new and online classes for me ease some of the overwhelmingness in learning how to manage time with work-life balance.”
Transitioning from a very structured system like high school tends to be exceedingly difficult for students in their first year of college. As new adults, fresh high school graduates face responsibility for schoolwork and classes. Online courses can help alleviate some of the pressure to be on campus so much.
When talking to Mr. Steel about whether he believes age factors into the success of online courses he said, “I do not believe it has as much to with as age as it does personal workloads. Everyone’s life has different circumstances like children, careers or self-sufficiency; in my opinion, online courses work for those who have the ability and self-discipline to ensure the course work is done.”
Mr. Steel and Miss Orner also made remarks about whether they believe that online courses curriculum was easier, and surprisingly, they both agreed that the course work was equal to that in person classes.
One could argue that online courses are expected to become as traditional as in-person courses. As a former traditional student in class student at Lourdes University, there is beauty in attending college in person. First, there are the friendships and classmates who you can lean on to get through some tough parts of college coursework. Second, in person classes are great for bonding with your professors and getting real time feedback.
As Miss Orner said earlier, problems with certain courses, such as math, can arise, and one must wait until the professor checks their email to receive feedback from the 2 a.m. cram session.
As a now nontraditional Owens Community College student, returning to school after many years, the online possibility is how I can finish my degree. Owens Community College and other college/universities now offer a wide range of online courses, as well as in-person classes. There are many positives to both styles of classroom settings, and maybe a hybrid of both would help most students, traditional and nontraditional.
At the end of the day, time management is key to success. The availability of different course types expands the opportunity of college to people who thought it wasn’t possible. College can be tailor made for the students’ convenience and that is a beautiful thing.
