Sitting through an 8am course is rough, and doing it twice a week is even worse.  “You should take an online course,” a friend says.  “It’s cake.  You just do some work on the computer and sit at home instead of going to class.”  Sounds great, right? 

            In the Fall 2006 semester 3.5 million students enrolled in online courses, reflecting a 10% yearly increase in online enrollment.

“As is true with many aspects of life, including college itself, the online course is NOT for everyone,”  says Leonard M. Edmonds,  Honors Disciplinary faculty member at Arizona State University, Humanities and Arts.   “Each student must determine what his or her capabilities are with regard to navigating through a semester in which s/he has no face-to-face contact with the instructor or the other class members.”

Is Online Really Easier?

            Most students learn quickly that the answer to this question is a resounding “no.” 

            “A few folks drop out the first week of classes because they learn once they see the syllabus … that this is NOT the ‘cakewalk’ they had anticipated,” explains Edwards.

            Online students put in the same three hours of work each week as any class requires, reading or viewing videos to learn the material.  Then, to make up for the lack of interpersonal contact, students post online discussions in platforms such as Blackboard. 

            Carolyn Hess Johnson, Esq., Assistant Professor of Law and Forensic Studies at Villa Julie College explains, “Online courses are a different sort of challenge than traditional courses. Online learning must be active in order to achieve any kind of success in the course.  The option of sitting in the back of a traditional classroom… and choosing not to participate in class discussion does not exist in the online setting.” 

            Bruce Kingma, Associate Provost and Professor in the School of Information Studies  and the Martin J Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University elaborates,  “Online courses are definitely not the easy way out.  Online discussions are text based and require more thought, input, and participation by all students.  Student group participation requires textual interaction, which requires more time and effort than verbal communications.”

            Many professors require weekly discussions to be posted for the class with multiple posts per student.  At times the online courses require more library/journal research than the typical course, again making up for the missed time in class. 

Johnson agrees.  “The number of assignments and the hours spent in online courses are far greater than those in traditional courses….Depending on the skills and learning abilities of a particular student, the work can take more or less time than estimated.”

How Does It Look?

            Online courses may be more demanding, but they offer an education that might be otherwise unattainable to some.  Yet, how will it look on a transcript?

Edmonds explains, “There is no reason why accredited colleges and universities should not offer reciprocity for credit of their online courses.” 

            Kingma further explains, “Students receive the same degree whether they complete it online or face to face, so employers do not know the difference.”

            “If a student is attending an institution that offers both traditional and online learning, there is no indication to an employer that a particular student took online courses exclusively,” Johnson agrees.

            Yet, students should be aware that planning to complete an entire degree online may not be feasible everywhere.  Some colleges require capstone courses before the degree is complete, and these courses require inclass meeting time.

Knowing this, even high school students can get a head start on college.  “So long as they qualify for acceptance to the institution and can be disciplined enough to accomplish the work, high school students should be given an opportunity to get a jump on their college careers. This has been done in traditional courses for years. The same practice should apply to the online class,” Edmonds offers.

 What Should I Watch For?

            The online schedule allows flexibility, but the success rate of online students isn’t perfect.  Online learning requires planning, self-directed learning, and a strong work ethic. 

“The primary reason students are not successful in online courses is that they are unprepared for the personal discipline that online learning requires,” says Johnson.

However, professors believe they can better identify the online students who are falling behind in comparison to traditional courses. 

Kingma says, “Online it is clear within a week or so which students will not have the time to be engaged with the courses.  In a face to face course it may take longer to identify a student who will not be performing.”

Johnson offers an option, “Hybrid courses are an excellent option for students who enjoy learning in a traditional setting but have significant restrictions on their availability to attend traditional courses.”  As the name implies, the hybrid courses include a fair amount of face to face learning with supplements online.  

“Those who successfully navigate a well-constructed course in which the instructor takes an active role will be able to testify to the rigorous nature of the online course,” says Edmonds.

© Kelly Ann Butterbaugh