Benefits of Online College Compared to Traditional Schooling

Hannah Parker
Juan Perez is a born and raised New Yorker, and in 1995 he was a middle school dropout who

only saw three options: drugs, jail, or death. He was at his lowest point when a man named

Brother Tim Jones inspired him to sign up for the armed forces and get his life started. After

failing the military aptitude test four times, Perez was told to go to continue his education before

coming back to try to get into the military again. He went out and got his GED, and then faced

the challenge of beginning college. He had a full time job, and did not have the time to go out

and spend his days at a university. That’s when he discovered the online classes at University of

Maryland University College. With these online classes, he was able to complete his bachelor’s

and master’s degrees while working a full time job, and later on while serving overseas in the

military.

There are so many people like Juan Perez who wish to continue their education, but do

not have access due to full time jobs, transportation, or just the business of an adult life. Many

just cannot afford room and board, and are looking for a cheaper option with the same valuable

education. In the 1990s a solution presented itself to these people: the option to take courses

online was emerging. Still, there is a debate among many students as to whether an online

education would truly be just as effective as a traditional on-campus experience.

Among the many kinds of people who needed access to school were students enlisted in

the army, who were commonly employed far from home. These people needed not only access to

school in general, but access to a school that would cater to their needs. There has always been a

need for schooling for military overseas. University of Maryland University College was the first

United States college to send faculty overseas to teach military who were on duty overseas,

specifically in Germany. UMUC first did so in 1949 following World War II, and continued to
sent faculty overseas for decades. Even after the school moved online in the mid 1990s, faculty

continued teaching around the world in military programs.

The schools offering these programs have worked to keep the school experience as close

to a traditional one as possible, but there are large differences. Despite these differences, the

educational experience is not worth any less than a traditional education, and could be

considered even more valuable.

Earning a degree from an online university is a better option for adults returning to

school than attending a traditional school. Online schools provide better access for those with

full time jobs, provide more access to data which can improve the school, and teach self-reliance

and accountability to students enrolled in online programs.

Are these classes simply dramatizing the divide between the rich and poor further? After

all, internet access is not guaranteed, and unless one has constant access to a library, there is no

other way to access their classes. So yes, in a way online courses are more convenient, but this

does not make them accessible to everyone. And this left out group is, more often than not, the

very same group that is being highlighted as being helped by these online courses: the lower

classes who lack access to traditional schooling for whatever reason.

It is important to remember that many of these online schools are for profit, and even

schools that are not for profit still have fees and tuitions that are much higher than the average

person can afford. No matter how easy and simple it is to sign up for a course, the fees are

unfortunately still there. No matter how small they are.

Although all of these points are valid, many drawbacks to online schooling come from its

relative newness. University of Maryland University College’s online program was founded only
twenty years ago. This is incredibly recent, considering that University of Maryland University

College itself was founded over seventy years ago. Constant improvements are being made

though, and many are due to the data that can be collected from online courses. The majority of

UMUC students are “25 or older, with jobs, families and community commitments,” which

“preclude full-time study at a college or university” (Hudgins). Online schools are more

convenient for the average working adult, and despite its newness, online schools provide a

valuable alternative for such students.

The largest advantage of taking classes at an online school is the administration’s ability

to improve the school and individual classes through collected data. Every study that has been

written on the subject of effects of online schooling has used data collected from classes in order

to study and improve the classes based on the findings. More and more schools have begun using

data collected from students to carefully revise and outline their teaching methods and class

structure. Arizona State University reports that their graduations rates have “climbed by 20%”

over the past decade since they have begun using data collected from students” (Zinshteyn). But

although any school can collect data form its students in order to improve their classes and

overall school, online schools and programs can do so much more easily. Collecting this data

from online courses is faster, cheaper, and more convenient. Not to mention it is easier to

implement the reforms across a digital space. Communication between students, faculty, and

staff across mobile platforms is also much faster than in a traditional school.

A large concern with online school is the way that it is set up, in that students are learning

in the privacy of their own homes, and are entirely responsible for themselves. Apart from

security and academic honesty concerns, students are also responsible for motivating themselves.
There is no peer pressure from others in the room to perform, or the physical presence of a

teacher. However, many rise to this challenge. It was found that “students with high Internet self-

efficacy outperformed those with low Internet self-efficacy on the final exam” (Chang). Not only

this, but students with high internet-efficacy also had higher self-confidence, and more

confidence in completing the very same internet course.

These online courses are teaching important skills, such as self-efficacy, that are useful in

the working world. An estimated 1.5 million kindergarten through twelfth grade students were

enrolled in online education in 2010. Almost 2.4 million undergraduate students were enrolled in

online schools during the 2011-2012 school year. “An estimated 1.5 million K-12 students

participated in some online learning in 2010, and online learning enrollments are projected to

grow in future years” (Bettinger). These numbers are only growing as time goes on, and as

education technology grows. Though online education is relatively new, only becoming

available in the mid 1990s, it has grown exponentially. Still, due to the newness of online

classes, not there are very few studies backing up the positive or negative effects of taking online

courses.

And that is the main problem. One of the oldest studies conducted on online education

over the years covers only a decade. The drawbacks of a completely online education exist

simply due to how recent it is. But these drawbacks are being addressed, and the benefits far

outweigh the drawbacks. So many people who are in situations in which they would not

normally have access to an education now have it. It began in Universities, but there are now

many elementary, middle, and high schools all offering similar programs for children who either
do not have access to school, or just want to try out the form of schooling that may take over.

Online schooling is only increasing as time goes on.

Over all, it is unfair to discredit online universities, the experience one gains from these

schools is just as good, if not better than traditional universities.

Works Cited

Allen, Elaine I, and Jeff Seaman. Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in
the United States. Pearson Foundation, 2013, pp. 1–47, Changing Course: Ten Years of
Tracking Online Education in the United States.

Bettinger, Eric, and Susanna Loeb. “Promises and Pitfalls of Online Education.” Brookings,
Brookings, 8 June 2017,
 www.brookings.edu/research/promises-and-pitfalls-of-online-education/.

Chang, Chiung-Sui, et al. “Effects of Online College Students Internet Self-Efficacy on

Learning Motivation and Performance.” Innovations in Education and Teaching
International, vol. 51, no. 4, 2013, pp. 366–377., doi:10.1080/14703297.2013.771429

Hudgins, Sharon. Beyond the Ivory Tower: the First Sixty Years 1947-2007. University of
Maryland University College, 2008.

Zinshteyn, Mikhail. “The Colleges Are Watching.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 1
Nov. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/11/the-colleges-are-
watching/506129/.