Getting a degree switches servers

Flexibility, accessibility have students looking to

By: Tara Pistorese

Posted: 2/18/08

Online education offers convenience for those with busy lifestyles.

OSU's extended campus (e-campus) is working to develop a wide variety of undergraduate degree options for men and women.

Online education is becoming increasingly popular among students with busy lifestyles at OSU and college campuses across America by offering a level of convenience that traditional site-based education does not.

The majority of students pursuing a degree through online courses are adult learners who are unable to attend traditional courses available on campus. E-campus is working to offer these students degree options and opportunities.

"Flexibility in use of time and inability to travel to physical locations are key," said Scott Reed, vice provost for outreach and engagement.

"Many distance and online courses are designed with place-bound students in mind."

Online education also offers opportunities to adult learners who were previously unable to finish their degree.

"Students who have outside responsibilities but want to continue their education or finish their degree are the primary target," said Dave King, interim associate provost for OSU's extended campus.

Traditional on-campus students are also finding themselves pressed for time and convenience and are turning to distance learning as a flexible option to earn course credit.

"We have seen a large growth in our on-campus students who are opting for online courses," said Lisa Templeton, director of marketing and communications.

In the beginning, professors were cautious of their involvement in online courses for fear of losing the dialogue achieved by face-to-face interaction with students.

"They get into an online classroom and some of them found that there was more dialogue because it's a very safe place to talk. You can think about your response before you enter it," Templeton said.

While some parts of the nation fear that the growing popularity of online courses may hinder the availability of future teaching positions, this is not an opinion shared by OSU's e-campus administrators.

"Everyone needs to be involved in education in a way that serves their purposes," King said.

"We are always going to have people who want to come to campus, who want to be involved in the maturation process, in the socialization process, in going to football games and things like that."

Online education is developing its own form of student-teacher and student-student interaction through the use of discussion boards and other online tools.

"Students start to interact in a much more robust and easier way," King said, "so sometimes the interaction becomes a very unique and interesting part of the class."

The benefits and advantages of taking online courses are also expanding educational options and accessibility for those who are physically disabled.

"We had a student who was physically disabled and for her to get from building to building in a wheelchair, to get up rickety old stairs and to find a parking spot was nearly impossible," Templeton said, "so for her, it was the anonymity. No one knew that she was in a wheelchair and she was able to earn her degree and feel like every other student."

Some students are finding advantages to online education through the use of resources they would otherwise not have had easy access to. These resources are made readily accessible through direct links posted in their virtual classrooms.

"I think also, a lot of on-campus students are more comfortable in an online environment, so it is a real natural fit for some younger people," Templeton said.

Drawbacks to online learning can develop through lack of motivation and conflict between online education and a student's unique learning style.

Each online course has a corresponding instructor that is chosen individually by department. For example, the instructor for an online history course would be chosen by the department of history, not by the extended campus, Templeton said.

Instructors are available to answer questions or explain difficult concepts similar to traditional courses. The concept of online education allows flexibility for instructors as well as students.

"Also, there are instructors or faculty members whether on sabbatical or whether traveling, doing their research, can still teach online," Templeton said.

Overall classroom goals and course requirements are the same for any online course as they would be for the same course taken traditionally.

"Outcomes from the course will be identical, the way in which students get there, however, will be very different," Templeton said.

"In a site-based course you may be getting up and giving a presentation, whereas in an online course you may be creating a website. So there are different ways to get to the same learning outcome."

Online courses are offered in a time line that mimics OSU's traditional term schedule.

Some instructors design their courses such that more material is taught toward the beginning of the term or the project portion of the term is offered towards the end, but the schedule is similar to that of a site-based course, Templeton said.

"What I like to see is in the course material that is developed for a course like Chemistry 101 for example, there might be one day of instruction provided online (among many days) and that same one day of instruction might be a week of instruction in a high school chemistry course," King said .

Online courses are designed to encourage dialogue, feedback, interaction, mentoring and participation.

While much of the nation refers to the development of online education as the 'reinvention of the school system,' faculty members at OSU believe there will always be a place for traditional learning.

"Not everyone should be in an online class, not everyone should teach an online class, and not all subjects should be taught online, but there are a lot of students who thrive in an online environment and a lot of instructors who are really great in an online classroom and there are a lot of subjects that lend themselves really well to online learning," Templeton said.

Classes that captivate students, highly interest them, allow them to take advantage of their opportunities and multi-media capabilities and create an atmosphere where education offers a new view on things are the ones that make good online courses, King said.

"I think that educational opportunities are constantly being enhanced and customized to best meet learner needs," Reed said. "We have observed numerous media advances in education over time - online is a current one."

Hybrid courses offer another option in online learning and are popular among the education department at OSU.

In a hybrid course there is partial site-based learning in the form of a lab as well as an online component that handles much of the education.

"It is up to the department to decide, 'can this all be taught on line or does a portion of it have to be site-based?' We can design it in whichever way is best for the learner," Templeton said.

OSU currently offers four undergraduate degrees through online education, nine minors and ten graduate degrees through course delivery options such as web, video/DVD, streaming media and on-site instruction.

The undergraduate programs currently offered are environmental sciences, general agriculture, liberal studies, and natural resources.

Also, there are more than sixty individual courses available through online study. OSU is currently in the process of trying to expand their online options due to growing demand.

"It is up to the college and the department to decide if they want to offer the degree online. It takes time to develop new courses and programs and I think faculty members feel pretty stretched right now, and then to add more to the field feels like a lot," Templeton said.

Due to distance education and technology fees, the cost of online education is $204.00 per credit for an in-state student compared to $124.00 per credit for a site-based course for the same student.

The e-campus at OSU is a self-support unit; therefore it does not receive state dollars. As a result, the tuition plateau doesn't cover online courses, Templeton said.

when taking an online course is the same for out-of-state students as it is for an in-state student.

"We get a lot of out-of-state interest. Last year we had at least one student from each state and students from at least 14 different countries taking our online courses. You get a real diverse mix of students," Templeton said.

E-campus continues to develop courses and material to provide convenience to learners of all ages and lifestyles.

"If there is one thing that I think is critical it is that we are learner driven," King said.

Tara Pistorese, staff writer

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