This essay compares the positives and negatives of online education fro college students.

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Is Online Education Effective for College Students
David Compton
Western Oregon University
June 23, 2020

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Is online education effective for college students?
Introduction
The idea of online learning is not a new one. The University of Phoenix boasts that it had
the first fully online program as early as 1989 (Online Schools, n.d.). The use of correspondence
coursework or distance learning has been around since the 1800s (Online Schools, n.d., para. 4).
However, many advancements and changes to education have made the ability to earn full
degrees online a reality for many. From 2016 to 2017 the number of students pursuing some
kind of online degree grew by 5.7 percent (Inside Higher Ed, 2018). In numbers, that accounts
for roughly 350,000 more students online than the year before. A recent study showed that
eighty-four percent of students agreed that online education was “worth the cost,” while only 6
percent disagreed (Inside Higher Ed, 2019). Through this paper I will present information on
why there is such a trend to online learning and how that format is as valuable as a brick and
mortar, in person class, or traditional format. Traditional is typically used to describe a system
where students physically report to a facility to receive an education through in person lectures
and classroom settings.
Online education has become a very popular option for students in higher education
compared to the traditional in face-to-face or brick and mortar system. The traditional system
was formed off the Prussian model of education with an elementary level, followed by various
forms of secondary education and finally higher education (Bukowski, P., 2019). However,
recently there has been a push for more alternative styles and online learning at an early age.
Between the 2009-10 and 2013-14 academic years there was an 80% increase in the number of

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students interested in online or blended education (Connections Academy, n.d., Infographic).
As of 2016, there were more than 6 million students taking at least one online course (Seaman,
J.E., Allen, I. E., et al., 2018). Between 2012 and 2016 there was over a 4% growth in students
taking at least one online course, whereas overall enrollment at colleges or universities was
only 2.8% over the same timeframe (Seaman, J.E., Allen, I. E., et al., 2018). Students taking
online courses now makes up 31% of all students in higher education (Seaman, J.E., Allen, I. E.,
et al, 2018). Students seeking online education has continued to grow and take a sizeable share
of the overall enrollment in the United States.
Babson Survey Research Group reports that 71% of students think that virtual learning
provides more flexibility and freedom to take classes (NerdyMats,n.d.,para3). With work and
other responsibilities, this means that students can have some say on when and how they
receive their education. With the popularity of platforms like Moodle, Canvas, and Blackboard,
etc., faculty have the advantage of presenting education through online means. Even if
students are still in traditional classrooms, their learning can at least be partly online and the
instructors will not have to rely on scheduled class time to present learning opportunities as
well as supporting materials for their students. With the worldwide pandemic of 2020, this
ability to switch to an online format helped many colleges continue to offer courses throughout
their spring term when their physical campuses were completely shut down.
Why Students Choose Online Learning
Online learning not only provides flexibility of when and where a student takes a course,
but it also provides an opportunity to remove certain challenges of traditional learning that

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educators have to account for. In a traditional school environment, enrollment is limited by the
number of students you can have in a certain space. Although an online course might have
some enrollment limits based on the topic or availability of the instructor, it is not controlled by
the dimensions of a building. Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs boasted over 1 million
students in 11,000 courses for 2018 (Class Central, 2018). Online learning also removes some
of the social pressure or anxiety that some students deal with on a daily basis. Although not
many research studies center around bullying among college students one study reported that
between 21-25% of undergraduate students report bullying in their college setting, compared
to 10-15% of students taking courses online (Rospenda, et. al., 2014). When a student does
their course work online, they can reduce the pressure that comes from the peers in their
school.
Another reason a student might prefer online education is that it can often be less
expensive than brick-and-mortar education. According to bestvalueschools.com, online colleges
are traditionally cheaper than brick and mortar classes because “they usually do not have vast
swaths of land, property and building to manage” (Best Value Schools, n.d., para.2).
Additionally, they do not have the number of support staff and personnel to pay each month.
This does not mean that staff are not required; positions like tech support are going to be even
more important with an online-only program. In their 2019 report, US News and World Report
states that the tuition and fees at ranked public schools increased on average by 4%. Private
colleges increased by about 3% (Powell and Kerr, 2019, para. 2). The average yearly cost of a
public and private college in the United States in now listed as $10,116(public in-state),
$22,577(public out-of-state) and $36,801(private) (Powell and Kerr, 2019, para. 6). This typically

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does not include the cost of housing, dining and personal expenses associated with going to
college. These costs can bring additional costs for all types of colleges. Public and private
colleges can increase by $10,000 to $15,000 per year when adding all expenses. Although the
cost of online-only education varies per institution, the overall cost of education is typically
lower. As an example, Oregon State University charges $318/credit for all regular online
undergraduate courses. This is more than the cost of their on-campus courses, but when you
compare the total cost of education between online and on-campus classes the online cost is
around $12,000 for a year-long full-time load of courses. When considering the additional costs
for living and travel expenses the cost for on-campus courses can be $24,000 per year or more
(Oregon State University, 2020). In summary, the total cost to get an education online can
become very affordable when considering the cost of attendance for in-person classes.
What the Critics Have to Say
Online learning is certainly popular, but it also has many critics. As recently as January of
2019, results have come out that online or e-learning is not meeting the mark. According to a
report released in Inside Higher Education, two professors working on the report have stated
that, “Online education has failed to reduce costs and improve outcomes for students. Faculty,
academic leaders, the public and employers continue to perceive online degrees less favorably
than traditional degrees” (Fain, 2019, para. 4). The evidence showed that students
underperform and have poor outcomes, particularly those students from underrepresented or
disadvantaged backgrounds (Fain, 2019, para. 6). In other words, students who traditionally
struggle in higher education are choosing a form of education that might not provide the
institutional help they need.

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Some studies found that roughly 85 percent of those who are in traditional courses
complete their course, whereas only 79 percent of those in online courses complete theirs (Best
Colleges, n.d., para. 4). A study released by UC Davis and reported in USA Today showed that
online students often had a higher GPA over the first term, but then were later outperformed
by their traditional student counterparts (Ung, 2015, para. 7). From the critics’ perspective, this
is evidence that supports their claim that online learning is not a great option for students to
truly learn.
The reasons that students struggle in online courses vary, but there are some common
underlying factors. The first is that students often do not have that face-to-face opportunity to
meet with a teacher/professor. Having personal contact with the instructor allows for quicker
help and modifications within a class (Xu & Jaggars, 2014). When a student is having a hard
time understanding the content, it is normally quicker and easier to have contact with the
instructor during class time since it is required to meet with them on a structured schedule.
Another reason has to do with the motivation of the student. Many students think of online
courses as a “learn at your own pace” environment. Often, they will put off coursework until a
time that best suits them. Unfortunately, many find out too late, that online courses can be
more rigid than face-to-face classes. In an article written for American Psychological
Association, Chamberlain states that students need to know that online classes can be fast
paced and it is important to keep up with them each week (Chamberlain, 2019, para. 12). The
point is that students cannot put off work in an online course and expect to make all of it up by
the end of the courses term.

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Chamberlain also notes that students might not realize that online courses are not as
simple as keeping up with posts from week to week like on Facebook or Twitter. One of the
contributors to her article noted that an instructor might have two to three online discussion
posts per week and that an instructor may spend up to 20 hours preparing to answer those
posts (Chamberlain, 2019, para. 5). Finally, technology can always be problematic. If the
internet is down, or a personal device is not working, it can cause a huge barrier for the
students’ success within any online course. Students need to know that taking courses online
requires a commitment to the course and material in order to be successful. In order to get the
benefit of an online course a student will need to put in the effort.
Not Everyone Agrees
Some reports suggest that online learning is not only effective, but it is a form of
education that can work for virtually everyone. In an MIT News report, it was discovered that
students taking an online physics course, which was the same physics class as their traditional
counterparts, actually performed better when tested (Chandler, 2014, para. 4). This would
mean that students taking the same class online did not show any deficiencies compared to
their in-class counterparts. Chandler stated that even students who were the least prepared to
take an online course had similar success to those who were most prepared for the course
(para. 5). In other words, students do not have to be native users of the internet, or completely
understand all things about the online environment, to be successful in an online course.
Online or distance learning does not mean that a student has to be completely
disconnected from their school physically. A 2018 report showed that a majority of students

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taking only distance courses remain in the same state of their college (Seaman, J. E., Allen, I. E.,
et al., 2018). Students are able to be a part of the larger college community, if they desire, and
not just the online community that they are learning in. Online communities also allows for
students to connect with traditional campus resources like tutoring and advising, both in person
as well as online. This access is contrary to the belief that students struggle because they do not
have that same face-to-face opportunity with their professors. One study found that a primary
challenge of online education is developing a sense of community. Community can be achieved
through promoting social presence, interaction and collaboration (Sun A. & Chen X., 2016). If a
student can connect with their university and feel like they belong, they will be more likely to
persist until graduation.
Online education has become necessary for many. In a 2016 research review it was
found that online education increases access to learning and training as a matter of equity and
offers a combination of education with work and family life (Sun A. & Chen X., 2016). In other
words, online education provides access to education for those who are not able to attend
college at a traditional college campus and that students that are balancing work and family life
can still obtain an education. The authors concluded although online education is unlikely to
replace traditional on campus education, it is a great alternative for many students (Sun A. &
ChenX., 2016, para. 50). Distance learning provides a pathway to a college education for those
who might not have been able due to physical location, scheduling conflicts or unaffordable
costs.
There are plenty of concerns when it comes to online courses, but that does not mean
that traditional courses are more valuable than online options. As previously mentioned, the

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cost of attending college can sometimes be prohibitive when considering the yearly college
expenses range between $20,000 to $50,000 per year in many cases. With the space limitations
that can come from the dimensions of a building, it is conceivable that a student might be left
out of a class that they need in order to graduate on time. According to the National Center for
Education Statistics, in 2017, 60 percent of students finished their four-year degree by the end
of their sixth year of college (NCES, 2017). The six-year-rate for public and private schools were
at 60 percent and 66 percent, respectively (NCES, 2017). For-profit colleges offered a bleaker
picture with only 21 percent of students finishing in six years (NCES, 2017). This rate includes
online and traditional format classes. One interesting thing to note about For-Profit online
education was that students pursuing their associate’s degree through an online only format
were completing their degree at a rate of 60% (Get Educated, n.d.). This means that students
were having more success online than through the traditional brick and mortar format.
Instructors Need to be Thoughtful
To say that there is a right or wrong way to get an education would be dishonest.
Students can have immense success in the right situation, or utter failure in the wrong
situation. It is the responsibility of the student and the advisor to make sure that the student
takes the right courses as well as the best delivery format. Selecting the right type of
educational delivery brings up a topic that can sometimes be overlooked in online education for
both the student and the instructor. Just as a student might not be prepared for the rigor of an
online course, some instructors might not be well suited for that form of teaching. It takes an
instructor that is comfortable with online formats as opposed to more traditional ways of
teaching. Inside Higher Education asked a number of professors for advice that they would give

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to first-time online instructors. A lot of the advice was excellent, but the one piece of advice
stated multiple times was for teachers to find a way to engage the students (Dimeo, 2017, para.
11). If teachers are not interested or engaged in the course work, the students realize this. They
will also not go out of their way to engage in the course work themselves. Faculty have to
provide those opportunities for the student. Some examples of ways an instructor can keep
students engaged include, but are not limited to providing clear guidance and examples of what
is expected from the course, segmenting lectures into smaller sequences and summarizing
often, and checking for comprehension through online discussion posts (Cao & Duru, 2020). The
purpose is to provide opportunities for students to show the instructor what has been learned
and to not bog the student down with an overload of information.
Another piece of advice that ranked very highly was that the instructor needs to imagine
the total learning experience for the student from start to finish (Dimeo, 2017, para. 3). This
means that the instructor needs to be able to foresee how the material is being perceived by
the learner and how they might deal with certain issues that arise. They need to consider the
types of media they are using and what the outcomes should be. It requires a lot of thought
and planning to make sure that the student is not left confused at any time. It is easy enough
for an online learner to get lost on their own.
What has My Experience Been
I wanted to take some time at the end of this paper to talk about my own experience
with online education. I did not know when I started my graduate degree that I would be taking
100 percent of my courses online. I thought that I would need to sit in a class, face-to-face, at

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least a few times, before all was said and done. This is something that frightened me. As an
individual who is working 40 or more hours per week, in addition to having two young children,
and wanting to have a personal life, I did not know when I would find the time. Online classes
have allowed me to make minimal sacrifices in my personal and work life, but still pursue the
degree that I wanted. It was not always easy. I too had to learn that online didn’t mean at-my-
pace, and I certainly felt like there were classes that were not well thought out or with the
learner in mind.
In my opinion, online classes are absolutely necessary. When one considers the number
of students who are in a similar situation as me with multiple professional and personal
responsibilities, some students never pursue an education because their time is spent doing
other things. Many students that I work with want to stay close to home or are required to stay
close to home. When their home is nowhere near a physical source of education, they might
turn to online programs. Experts have been keeping track of how far the average student will is
willing to travel for their college education (Wexler, 2016). A study by the American Council on
Education found that the majority of freshmen attending a public four-year college enrolled in a
school within 50 miles of their home (Wexler, 2016, para. 3). This means that if campuses are
not geographically close to the student, they may not even consider applying. Having an online
presence opens up the door for the student and the institution alike.
It should be the goal of more public and private not-for-profit colleges to provide more
online opportunities for learning. Western Oregon University, in my opinion, has a long way to
go in this aspect. However, that might be a topic for a different day. I appreciate the online
instruction I received through this program and hope that many other do too. It is not for

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everyone, and there are certainly those who might not be as successful, but it is necessary to
provide the opportunity.
Although there might be some who would say that online colleges are not as successful,
it is important to remember that many of these programs have not been around very long.
With more elementary and secondary education schools offering online options, it can be
hypothesized that students are going to grow more accustomed to that format of education.
When students are more accustomed to that format, success rates will likely improve. More
time and research need to be completed before it can be determined if there is a best practice
in receiving an education. With its relative youth as a viable education option, time will tell how
effective online education really is. Online programs are succeeding at providing students with
choice in how they receive their education. Students can put less emphasis on location and
time as a limiting factor. The delivery method of online education can eliminate many of the
costs that in-person courses require. Having to choose between work and education can be a
thing of the past. Students can expect the same amount of rigor and learning in an online
delivered course. Finally, students can still maintain a sense of community with their university
even if they are miles apart. Online education is an effective option and should be treated as
though it is.

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References
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