Off-campus students take advantage of online courses

Students have selection of 450 classes offered

By: Nick Ngo

Posted: 9/28/07

Students facing schedule conflict problems when registering for classes usually have a couple of options: not take that class, drop the other class to take the latter or take the online course.

According to Mark Merickel, OSU Extended Campus associate dean, there has been an increase in students taking online courses.

OSU Extended Campus has been growing throughout the years to accommodate not only the educational needs of students living off-campus, but those on campus as well.

"We really noticed a large demographic two years ago for [on-campus] students to choose online courses," Merickel said. "The E-Campus organization unit was developed to help the off-campus students, but (now) more students choose to go online."

Online courses were originally created for the purpose of allowing students who live off-campus to work towards an education. However, Merickel said that as the extended campus kept growing, more students began to jump in.

"It really started happening about four years ago," Merickel said. "We have worked very hard to develop a larger inventory for students to learn their degree. In building such a robust inventory that made it more available to students."

The majority of students who enroll in online courses are from Oregon, although, there are a number of students outside the state enrolled in online courses as well.

"Last year we had a student from each state and 14 foreign countries, at some point in the year taking courses in E-Campus," said Lisa Templeton, OSU Extended Campus director of marketing and communications.

"The advantage is there's greater access, there's more availability with regards to flexibility to meeting the students schedule," Merickel said.

Merickel also points to the advantages of digital resources.

"You (have) tremendous resources at your finger tips. We try to build courses that (are compatible with) the library system so that content and digital material are available to students - so they don't have to run around and do Google searches," he said.

Another advantage for online education - curriculum is the same to that of a classroom course. "The learning outcome is identical," Templeton said. "It's just the delivery method that differs."

Instructors who teach online courses create the curriculum for each term in advance.

"There's a lot of preparation that goes into planning an online course, you have to prepare the entire class," said Rebecca Warner, a sociology professor. "For campus classes, instructors can write a lecture for each week. With online, they have to prepare the entire term before the class starts."

When students are taking a course, they can also participate in online discussions. Most courses have an online discussion board for the class that allow students to use each other as a resource.

"I think the benefit is students can participate anytime they want," Warner said. "The drawback is a student can participate on Monday and never came back on."

One of the differences between online and classroom education is inability to meet face-to-face with their teachers.

"There is a certain spontaneity that takes place in a face-to-face environment," Merickel said. "Some say it can be more creative - more ambient cues from students, and the instructor can get more ambient cues from students."

"I never get to see my E-Campus students, we don't really develop a relationship where you might get to see them," Warner said.

There's also the possibility of students trying to cheat. However, Merickel said they have security proctors set up to prevent any sort of cheating. He also believes that students respect the honor system and choose not to cheat.

Comparing extended campus and on-campus resident rates - students taking online courses pay $204 per credit, while a resident taking courses on-campus pay $124 per credit. Also, as students pass six credits, E-Campus tuition rates rise. A student taking 15 credits through E-Campus pays $3,015, while an on-campus student pays $1970.36.

"OSU Extended Campus is a self supporting unit of the university. All the courses we teach are self sustaining," said Alfonso Bradoch, OSU Extended Campus assistant director of department and student services. "The tuition we receive goes to funding the courses."

OSU Extended Campus does not receive state dollars. The extended campus is unable to sustain a tuition plateau like the campus (meaning a flat tuition fee past 12 credits).

"We were set up to serve non-resident students and the average number of credits they would take would be up to six," Merickel said.

Despite the current price difference, Merickel also said that he, along with the administration is looking to make online classes more affordable.

Nick Ngo, asst. news editor

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2232