Online degrees are a terrific way to pursue your education if you have time restrictions or responsibilities that rely on your need to be at home. I fell into the latter category and took online classes for about seven or eight years. This excellent opportunity allowed me to continue the education I had to abandon many years ago due to family obligations. Through the beauty of the internet, I was able to do my work from home and earn that degree!
While the opportunity and freedom to choose is great, if you're considering an online degree program, you should evaluate the benefits and drawbacks before committing to a program. Online programs broaden the ways to pursue you can pursue higher ed, but this platform is not for everyone. There are many pros and cons of online degrees. Here are several of the things I have observed and experienced:
Heading to campus: You don't have to get dressed, warm the car up and drive to campus to fight for a parking spot. You'll save money on gas (and, most likely, parking) and you can even wear your PJ's if you feel like it.
Develop your writing skills: Participating in course online discussions helps develops writing skills and provides in-depth hands-on experience in learning foundational knowledge because you're forced to type out discussions. It's very different than raising your hand to answer a question or having the professor call on you. (I gained stronger electronic communication skills by being forced to have consistent discussions in my classes. I did a BS and an MBA online).
Diversified teams: People register from all over the country and, perhaps even the world, to take online courses. The diversity experienced in online classes is second to none and you can learn an awful lot from your classmates.
Log-on from anywhere: You can be on vacation and still go to class! During visits with family or just going on vacation, you can continue your coursework as long as you have an internet connection. There will be no make-up work or notes to worry about since you can build in class time during your time away
Need discipline: You'll need a lot of discipline to maintain a strong standing in online courses. Despite common belief that "online classes are easier", they really aren't. The aforementioned discussions are a big part of the reason they are more difficult because each question posed by the professor is often required to have essay quality responses.
Miss out on campus life and socialization: Sports, clubs, academic organizations, and special events are not accessible to the online degree students. Although, as online degrees have become the norm, schools are coming up with ways where students can get more involved.
Lose out on campus resources: Resources such as tutoring, workshops, library, and study groups are more difficult to access if you're solely taking online classes due to schedule or distance from campus. On the plus side, there are some awesome online libraries, databases and directories students typically have access to.
Costs: Some colleges charge extra technology fees and administrative fees for distance learning classes to cover network and other technology expenses that are associated with online courses. Although, today this is likely less of an issue since most traditional classrooms are integrating an online component into the curriculum anyway.
No holidays: You are not mandated to log in your class on a holiday, but you'll have to pre-plan your assignments and discussions to sign on the required amount of times during that week since you are fully expected to have full participation during the holidays. An online school doesn't necessarily shut down like campus does (this could perhaps be my experience - I had due dates that fell on holidays since they were typically due, say, every Monday).
One pro that is also a con is having computer access. If your computer or ISP goes out of commission for some reason, that it'll never be an excuse for lost or late assignments. Professors expect you to get to another computer. Always have a backup plan in case this happens to you if you rely on your home computer 100 percent. While technology really enhances and expands educational options, total reliance on technology is sometimes difficult too.
Distance learning isn't for everyone, but it is great to have that option available if it works for you. The best way to decide if it's a good fit for your learning style is to evaluate the pros and cons to see which outweighs the other.
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While the opportunity and freedom to choose is great, if you're considering an online degree program, you should evaluate the benefits and drawbacks before committing to a program. Online programs broaden the ways to pursue you can pursue higher ed, but this platform is not for everyone. There are many pros and cons of online degrees. Here are several of the things I have observed and experienced:
Pros of online degrees
Flexibility: This aspect of online courses is the biggest plus of them all. The removal of rigid time constraints is beautiful; you can log on at any time of the day or night and go to class. Even if time management and/or organization is a downfall for you, online courses are typically structured enough to keep you on task, but with wiggle room to get your assignments done.Heading to campus: You don't have to get dressed, warm the car up and drive to campus to fight for a parking spot. You'll save money on gas (and, most likely, parking) and you can even wear your PJ's if you feel like it.
Develop your writing skills: Participating in course online discussions helps develops writing skills and provides in-depth hands-on experience in learning foundational knowledge because you're forced to type out discussions. It's very different than raising your hand to answer a question or having the professor call on you. (I gained stronger electronic communication skills by being forced to have consistent discussions in my classes. I did a BS and an MBA online).
Diversified teams: People register from all over the country and, perhaps even the world, to take online courses. The diversity experienced in online classes is second to none and you can learn an awful lot from your classmates.
Log-on from anywhere: You can be on vacation and still go to class! During visits with family or just going on vacation, you can continue your coursework as long as you have an internet connection. There will be no make-up work or notes to worry about since you can build in class time during your time away
Cons of online degrees
Digital contact: Human interaction and interpersonal conversation can be lost. Communicating with your counselors, fellow classmates and professors through text is not the same as having an in-person conversation. However, over the years this has probably changed a lot since people are more accustomed to communicating through digital methods. There are some terrific tools in place to ensure the flow of conversation and the ability to have contact in online classes, but it's not the same as carrying a conversation in person. If you're a "people" person, you might miss this interaction.Need discipline: You'll need a lot of discipline to maintain a strong standing in online courses. Despite common belief that "online classes are easier", they really aren't. The aforementioned discussions are a big part of the reason they are more difficult because each question posed by the professor is often required to have essay quality responses.
Miss out on campus life and socialization: Sports, clubs, academic organizations, and special events are not accessible to the online degree students. Although, as online degrees have become the norm, schools are coming up with ways where students can get more involved.
Lose out on campus resources: Resources such as tutoring, workshops, library, and study groups are more difficult to access if you're solely taking online classes due to schedule or distance from campus. On the plus side, there are some awesome online libraries, databases and directories students typically have access to.
Costs: Some colleges charge extra technology fees and administrative fees for distance learning classes to cover network and other technology expenses that are associated with online courses. Although, today this is likely less of an issue since most traditional classrooms are integrating an online component into the curriculum anyway.
No holidays: You are not mandated to log in your class on a holiday, but you'll have to pre-plan your assignments and discussions to sign on the required amount of times during that week since you are fully expected to have full participation during the holidays. An online school doesn't necessarily shut down like campus does (this could perhaps be my experience - I had due dates that fell on holidays since they were typically due, say, every Monday).
One pro that is also a con is having computer access. If your computer or ISP goes out of commission for some reason, that it'll never be an excuse for lost or late assignments. Professors expect you to get to another computer. Always have a backup plan in case this happens to you if you rely on your home computer 100 percent. While technology really enhances and expands educational options, total reliance on technology is sometimes difficult too.
Distance learning isn't for everyone, but it is great to have that option available if it works for you. The best way to decide if it's a good fit for your learning style is to evaluate the pros and cons to see which outweighs the other.
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