The popularity of online classes and degree programs at ASU makes it clear that online education is here to stay.
According to Tamara Popovich, director of Student Services, the population of online students at ASU grew from 1,800 to 8,000 in the past four years, and a 2011 projection predicted that population would grow to 30,000 by 2020.
There are many advantages of taking online classes, chief among which is flexibility. College students often have jobs, internships, extracurricular activities and social commitments to juggle alongside classes, and being able to squeeze in an online class can simplify a busy schedule.
The major disadvantage of online classes is a vast degree of inconsistency from one online class to the next. Some courses offered online are simply watered-down versions of core classes that ought to be taken in person. Some online courses try to make up for the lack of direct face-to-face contact with a disproportionate amount of busywork and discussion board posts, while still others are laughably easy, offering little enrichment or real learning. Then there are online lab science classes, which are oxymoronic: How can you conduct a real lab sitting at home on your laptop?
University officials across the country tout online education as the silver bullet to counter rising costs of attendance and expand access to lower-income or non-traditional college students.
Online classes, and more specifically, massive open online courses, aren't necessarily what they’re made out to be. According to the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education, “The push for more online courses has not made higher education cheaper for students. The promise has always been that it will — but that day always seems to be in the future.”
Pursuing the “promise” of online education is a worthy goal. How can ASU and universities in general make this a reality?
For some students who are kinesthetic learners, it can be difficult to adjust to online formats. Many college students now may have grown up with technology, but online textbooks often remain cumbersome and user-unfriendly.
The online format may also fail to accommodate students with disabilities, while in-person classes must provide such accommodations under federal law.
An online course confers the same amount of credits as its in-person counterparts, so it stands to reason that the experience and level of difficulty should reflect this. An upper-division online psychology course should incorporate an equal grading scale and equal requirements, and professors should be available to assist students. In some cases, professors may be teaching online courses from out of state. Those professors should be able to interact with students online more directly than through lethargic discussion board threads — the possibilities technology provides are endless. Why not host Google Hangouts where students can interact with peers and professors alike?
Because of the “remote” nature of online classes, regulating the content and structure of each course, as well as each individual professor, must be a difficult task. According to the Arizona Board of Regents policy, “Each University shall conduct a review of each program at least once every seven years … (including) an assessment of the adequacy of physical and fiscal resources available to the unit; the quality of the faculty and staff; research, and scholarly or creative activities; student performance; and outcomes of the program and an assessment of the level of the degree productivity.” This is crucial to improving online education.
If ASU wants to function as “One University in Many Places,” the governing policies and procedures of online classes need a face-lift.
Online classes may be the future of higher education, but the future isn’t here yet.
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