For more than a dozen years now, enrollment in online courses has continued to climb. The convenience and relative price of these classes continue to attract more students to online platforms of learning. For certain people, online courses offer needed flexibility and comfort, but these classes are not for everyone. 

A 2015 University of California Davis study showed online courses at community colleges have been less effective compared to their face-to-face counterparts. Study results revealed only 79 percent of students completed their online course, whereas 85 percent of students completed the same course in a face-to-face environment. Only 56 percent of students passed their online class, while 63 percent finished their face-to-face course. Overall study results determined that a student who took the same course both in person and online would be 11 percent less likely to complete and pass the course in an online setting.

One interesting part of the study found that online students tended to have average higher first-term GPAs than face-to-face students. But overall grades and completion rates of face-to-face courses surpassed those of online classes in the long term. A potential explanation of this is during the first term of college, students are acclimating to a different education system and face challenges adapting to their new learning environment.

Achievement in online class platforms is inhibited due to a variety of factors. While many people enroll in online classes because of their flexibility, it is this lack of a set schedule that impairs interest and completion. Online classes require more individual discipline and time management as one’s success depends solely on his or her own motivation.

Many students flock to online classes because they are perceived to be easier. This means students are often taking the class for the wrong reason and likely have even less motivation to actively participate in the class than the typical student. This is exactly the opposite type of student that should be enrolling in online courses. Online courses require higher interest, greater motivation to stay active and superior time management abilities in order to gain the same educational experience as in-person courses.

Not all online classes necessarily produce stunted academic achievement. When online and face-to-face courses meet in the middle, they produce a similar experience to solely face-to-face courses. Columbia University’s Community College Research Center has studied the achievement in both face-to-face and online course and found that a hybrid of the two provide an effective learning environment. These hybrid courses that involve in-person and online elements show paralleled academic performance to that of only in person courses.

At University of Wisconsin, students (especially out-of-state) have to fork up a pretty penny to be a part of the university, and part of this experience of attending UW is engaging with the other intelligent students. With online classes, students miss out on valuable opportunities to discuss class material and improve their understanding of the material through conversation with one another.

My online class experience was absolutely horrible. This past summer I took an online course through UW so that I could reduce my final semester credit load in case I needed time to travel for job interviews. The professor was literally traveling the world while trying to lead instruction of the course. One week he was in Madison, then Germany, then Philadelphia.

The instructor wasn’t giving the course the proper respect it deserved, especially seeing that I was paying more than $3,000 for the course. In fact, the professor rarely did any of the grading himself. He had other students in the class grade each other’s work based on a rubric handed out at the beginning of the course. 

Online classes aren’t all bad as they offer flexibility for people who may be unable to commit to traditional course times. When the appropriate interest, effort and time are put in, online classes can match the academic experience of face-to-face courses. But, if you are simply looking to take an online course for some easy credits, it might be a good idea to reconsider.

Ryan Smith ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in strategic communications.