More college students are finding themselves behind computer screens taking classes in relative solitude as they attend sections through e-mail and chat rooms. The growth of online classes and degree programs has left students with more options in efforts to finish undergraduate, and in some cases graduate, studies.
Many non-traditional students, such as adults returning to finish or start college, are embracing the programs, but some traditional college-aged students would prefer to complete their coursework in a brick and mortar classroom with interaction rather than e-mail correspondence and chat rooms.
U of M nursing student Anju Sasidharan is about to complete her freshman year of college and to date, she has not taken an online course.
"If it were my only option, I would take an online class," she said, standing outside of the library Tuesday. "They cost more and that's the same reason that I'm not taking any summer school classes."
Sasidharan said that she prefers the option of talking to fellow students or a professor in person if you have a question during class.
The non-conventional setup for online classes may not fit all material or student preferences, but cost does not appear to be a concern unless students are taking more online classes than traditional classes.
Fees for 2004-05 in-state undergraduate courses were $624 per three-hour class.
According to the bursar's office, there is no additional cost for an online section of a course offered at The U of M, however, courses offered through the Regents Online Degree Program cost more at $666 per three-hour undergraduate course for in-state students.
The bursar's office does have a cutoff for full-time students taking 12 hours or more, where they are not charged for each class added after they are registered for 12 hours. Online sections do not contribute to or qualify for this 12-hour full-time designation.
Classroom interaction seems to be the primary concern for students faced with the online option.
Jonathan Richard is in his second online class of the 2004-05 school year, and he said some types of classes lend themselves to the online format better than others.
"I took a public relations research class in the fall," he said. "It was much better than this one."
"This one," to which Richard referred, is an online public relations campaigns class that has many journalism students concerned in the face of section cuts in their department for the fall 2005 semester.
"Our professor in the fall online class was actually on campus every Tuesday if you needed to ask him something," Richard said.
Professors in other states teach some of the online classes offered by the Tennessee Board of Regents Online Degree Program, but U of M professors on the main campus teach other online classes.
"My professor this semester is in Orlando," Richard said. "He told us to set up groups for discussion and he didn't create a chat room for us."
Only two of the three people in Richard's online group had done any work until the third member reappeared as the semester came closer to an end. A female student in his section has been e-mailing everyone in the class because she still isn't in a group.
Looking at his class Web site Tuesday, Richard pulled up a couple of assignments for his online section of public relations campaigns.
"We turned in our first case study on Feb. 13 and he still hasn't returned it to us," he said.
A message on the class' Web site says that the second case study will be due on April 11.
"That's the second time he's moved it back," Richard said.
He said there might be courses in some disciplines that are better suited to an online format, but not when there is any kind of group work involved.
"You need to be able to talk to other students and your professor when you have a question," he said. "It seems like education is definitely being compromised when you can't learn directly from other people in the classroom."
U of M student Yatasha Holliday, a senior sociology major, prefers the interaction of being around fellow students and a professor, but she would consider any option if necessary.
"The cost wouldn't matter to me if I was forced to take an online class," Holliday said.
