Bachelor’s Degree the New High School Diploma; Budget Cuts Lead State University System to Cut Services; Increase Fees; Online the Solution to Rising Cost of Education; College Signed Illiterate People for Student Aid; US Falling Further Behind in Education—there seems to be an endless stream of headlines about the problems of higher education and proposed solutions, which contradict each other.
So why would I even try to add my voice to so many screaming headlines? After all, I am “only” an undergrad—in my mid-20s, with a full-time job. But perhaps there is something I could contribute—a perspective of a student who started at a community college, is about to graduate from an online program, and is also an intern at a brick-and-mortar, small, traditional university.
I come from a multi-educational background: I attended traditional daytime classes at my local community college; I attended the university utilizing the working adult “nighttime” schedule; and I am finishing the remainder of my degree online. While I can say wholeheartedly that I enjoyed the classroom setting, there certainly are pros and cons to online education, but the same can be said for traditional classroom settings. I took the approach of finishing my general education classes at a community college and finished my upper division coursework online. This worked great for me, and perhaps would work well for others.
The community college system is a great place to pursue general education foundations—it’s cheap and allows students to transfer credits to the university level. However, there are some disadvantages to this avenue. Many students who pursue the community college system tend to drop out or delay their education. Classes are often full and difficult to get into. Classes are typically full semester in length, which always had me questioning, “When is this over?”
Nevertheless, there is a huge benefit to taking general education courses on campus: Math, English and Science, what I call the “essential” subjects, tend to be more difficult for certain students to learn online. These classes deserve to be recognized as important classes, which should be taken on campus, because having a face-to-face instructor really makes a difference.
Without proper guidance, some students are left to figure “it” out themselves—this is not the best method of learning. According to Vygotsky’s theory of the “Zone of Proximal Development,” instructional guidance is helpful and is considered a much needed aspect in the process of learning. This is why I took my last English class at the community college, rather than online. Through the guidance of my instructor, I learned by having someone there to provide real-time feedback, whenever I made an error. Ultimately, each student learns in their own unique way. Some students need the face-to-face, social interaction because it fits their style of learning; others appreciate the self-directed learning option. I personally appreciate both methods, which provides an overall holistic approach to learning—the hybrid model.
When people find out that I’m completing my degree online, I generally receive the following question, “Why online?” Needless to say, online education is really accommodating to my schedule. I also enjoy the format and the class selection. At my private nonprofit university, I have a huge selection of classes, in eight-week increments—I never worried about classes filling up, and course availability is never an issue. Classes are very structured and organized, yet very challenging.
