Earning a college degree from the comfort of your own home may soon be as
common as surfing the Web.
Colleges and universities across the nation are establishing Web-based
courses that allow students to learn on their own time -- as an alternative
to
the traditional classroom learning experience.
While there are no hard statistics at this point on the number of
colleges
and universities offering online courses, a Web search on distance learning
found 187 institutions included. These are only a handful of the total
number
offering courses, since many community colleges aren't listed.
One of several hubs for online learning, the National Technological
University, alone hosts more than 1,300 online courses, offered by 48
participating schools.
Typically, online courses are entirely Web-based, using a bulletin-board
style interface wherein professors and students post messages for the entire
class to read. Some courses integrate chat rooms, which make possible real-
time, virtual discussions, and e-mail.
SUNY offers 37 locations
The State University of New York, through its Learning Network, offers
online courses through 37 of its locations, including SUNY New Paltz and
Dutchess and Ulster County community colleges.
Marist College is the first institution in the Hudson Valley to develop
an
online graduate degree program. Its School of Management launched two pilot
classes on Sept. 21, and its master of business administration program will
be
online in January.
"It's a degree program that's the same as the on-campus program in terms
of classes and requirements," said Gordon Badovic, dean of the Marist
College
School of Management.
Admission standards for the online program are the same as for the
regular,
on-campus program.
The primary benefit of online learning, according to Badovic, is that it
gives students convenience and flexibility.
"It's ideal for the commuter who has a difficult time getting to
class,"
he said. "A large number of people out there are in that situation. This is
going to be a tremendous benefit to them. They can continue to pursue a
degree
and not have to worry about going to class."
Critics of online learning argue that it's not as effective as
traditional
classroom-based learning, but that it does have its place in the educational
spectrum.
"We are inherently a residential, liberal arts college," said Norman
Fainstein, faculty dean at Vassar College. "The quality of education
depends
on students working, living and playing together and talking with the
faculty,
both in classes and elsewhere. Will students get to know classmates
electronically?"
Vassar has no plans to offer online classes or distance learning,
according
to Fainstein, but it does incorporate technology into the learning
environment
through Internet access from the dorm rooms.
Although online distance learning is not what Vassar's mode of education
and philosophy of education is about, Fainstein thinks that it "has its
place
in education."
Supporters of online learning contend that it increases communication
between students and faculty.
"Taking a course electronically requires a lot of discussion," said
Badovic. "Everyone has to participate; no one can sit at the back of the
room."
"With the anytime, any place advantage of technology, students from
anywhere can access the program and have interactive conversations with each
other anywhere on the globe," said Barbara Benjamin, who in January will be
teaching an online leadership course for Mercy College. "Students can
contact
(world) leaders via e-mail and have direct conversations with them."
"Students (who take online classes) are receiving more interaction and
attention from professors," said Jean Whitlow, extension program
coordinator
for SUNY New Paltz. "Even more so than in a big lecture with 125 students.
It's not always possible to have that kind of interaction when a class only
meets twice a week for 45 minutes."
Doesn't work for some
Most people seem to agree that the success of online and distance
learning
depends on the student. It works for some students and not for others.
"Different people will have different abilities to use the technology to
serve their needs," said Benjamin. For students who find online learning
effective, "they'll be very satisfied and very well served by the
technology," she said.
For students who are also parents or have full-time jobs, online learning
offers them an alternative never before available.
"The students who are happy (with online learning) are the adult
students
who can take the course when they want to," said Whitlow. "Some students --
the 18- to 22-year-olds -- miss the social aspect of learning in the
classroom."
Online learning programs are nothing new, but, like the Internet itself,
are rapidly increasing in popularity.
SUNY created its Learning Network, an Internet-based learning program, in
1994. During the 1996-97 school year, according to a SUNY press release, 450
students were enrolled in the program. Enrollment more than quadrupled, to
2,000, in 1997-98. The number is expected to be even higher for this
academic
year.
Mercy, also a long-time participant in online learning, launched MerLIN,
short for Mercy College's Long Distance Instructional Network, in fall 1992.
It started as a bulletin board system, which students accessed directly via
a
modem. The system is now Web-based and offers several undergraduate degrees
entirely online.
Approximately five percent of Mercy's 8,000 students participate in the
online program and its popularity increases each year, according to the
college.
