Online classes gain popularity

"One of the reasons I take online classes is that it keeps me from the main campus," Ganavazos said. "I also get to have more of my time during the day."

Ganavazos is part of a growing number of students choosing to take their classes online instead of in person.

In the past five years, there has been a 134 percent increase in students enrolled in at least one online class at the U of M, according to the Office of Institutional Research at the University.

The U of M offers 55 online programs ranging from a degree in Bachelor Arts in African and African-Americans Studies to a Masters in Business Administration.

Although Ganavazos said she likes having more free time, one of the cons is that people who lack self-discipline or time management skills can crash and burn.

"You are in charge of everything," Ganavazos said. "I feel like online classes have more checks and balances to keep you in check during the semester. You don't realize until you take it (an online class) that you have to 100 percent teach yourself."

There are several additional factors that students should consider before enrolling in an online course according to Roy Bowery, assistant dean of Distance Learning at the U of M.

"In earlier years - 2000 through 2005 - we would have a lot of traditional students take online courses and drop out in the first couple of weeks," Bowery said. "They could see there was a more demanding rigor."

The U of M has offered online classes since 1995.

Students who take online classes also have to adjust to not having a professor to constantly remind them about assignments and due dates.

"There is no professor on Tuesday reminding you that your paper on Thomas Jefferson is due Friday," Bowery said.

Most online classes don't require face-to-face interaction.

"This is because a student could be in the military in Afghanistan or could be an insurance salesman in Lincoln, Nebraska," Bowery said. "If it's an online class, it's online."

Dan Lattimore, vice provost of Extended Programs at the U of M, said one of the biggest reasons students take online classes is because they're easy to access.

"The chief advantage of taking an online class is that you can do work at 3 a.m.," Lattimore said.

Bowery said non-traditional students - those who are older, have children or have already had a career - are often drawn to the convenience of online classes.

"They are more civic-minded. They lead fairly busy lives and do not have the time an 18 or 19 year old would have," Bowery said. "They highly value studying at the time and place of their choosing, because they still have demanding family, life and personal responsibilities as well as community involvement."

This ties into the fact that the average student who is taking only online classes is a female in her thirties and she is probably a career-minded person, according to Bowery.

"The online program looks very attractive to them as a result," Bowery said.

Although a student has to pay a $100 surcharge per credit hour of an online class, students do not have to deal with daily expenses like driving to campus.

Bowery said that there is no ideal age for an online student, but that they should have the proper skills.

"The student with leadership and management skills has a better chance than a student who does not have those skills," Bowery said. "That does not mean that students who do not have those skills cannot succeed, but they have to make more of an effort."

Ganavazos said that unless you absolutely have to or are not 100 percent on top of things then you should pass on taking an online class.

"If you want to take an online class, you need to learn to manage your schedule," Ganavazos said. "It's not for everyone."

Despite the recent jumps in online enrollment, Lattimore does not see online classes becoming normal anytime soon.

"For online students, it's becoming a mainstay but not for traditional students," Lattimore said. "I see online classes as more of a supplement."