Pew Report Shows Differences in Opinion Regarding Online Learning

Written by  //  09/01/2011  //  College News  //  3 Comments

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Off campus education continues to grow in popularity.

Online learning has come of age with more colleges and universities offering distance learning classes than ever before. As the Internet began its explosive growth in the 1990s, schools such as the University of Phoenix, Western Governors University, DeVry University and American Military University have stepped forward, providing a way for students to learn without ever having to set foot in a classroom.

Traditional schools such as Rutgers University, the University of North Carolina, Kansas State University and Portland State University offer distance learning options, enabling students to attend class, learn remotely or both. These schools are following a well traveled path navigated by schools which are primarily or solely online only.

Your Perceptions

Learning perceptions about online education are mixed with just 29 percent of Americans surveyed in a recent Pew Research Center report stating that courses taken online have the same value as those taught on campus. That survey revealed that 51 percent of college presidents say that online courses provide the same value.

These findings are important because prospective students will not fully embrace online learning if they perceive differences between classes taken on campus and those taken online. What students may not know is that those schools offering both online and on campus courses typically do not issue separate degrees for these programs. In other words, if you take courses exclusively online, your degree should look no different from the one obtained by the person who attended classes in person.

Expanding Trends

The Pew Report offers some interesting trends in the way students learn today. Some 77 percent of college presidents say that their schools now offer online courses and these administrators also believe that 10 years from now most of their students will be taking classes online. Right now, about 15 percent of such students have taken at least one class online.

The Pew Research Center report is based on a pair of surveys it conducted in Spring 2011. One survey queried the general public, the other survey contacted college presidents and was done in cooperation with the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The survey of college presidents went beyond online learning, asking these administrators about the Internet and plagiarism, digital textbooks and the use of technology in the classroom. More than 2,100 adult Americans were surveyed in the first survey; in the second survey presidents of 1,055 two-year and four-year private, public, and for-profit colleges and universities were surveyed.

See Also — Off to College: Reduce College Costs

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3 Comments on "Pew Report Shows Differences in Opinion Regarding Online Learning"

  1. Barbara Collamer, PhD 09/14/2011 at 8:37 am ·

    I taught for 20 years at a bricks and mortar university and now for the past 4 years at an on-line university. My on-line teaching is just as rigorous, audited, and time consuming as the face-to-face teaching was. I try to reproduce the same experience on-line that my lecture hall students received when I was teaching on campus. I put them through the same paces and I use internet technology to suppliment their exposure to the issues. One of the factors to consider when assessing the quality of the learning experience is how closely faculty are monitored and, also, what type of software is used to control the virtual classroom experience. I respect my on-line university for their diligent and progressive approach to successfully managing a huge student and faculty presence.

  2. Matthew C. Keegan 09/14/2011 at 9:07 am ·

    Thank you for sharing your experience, Barbara.

    I believe the monitoring process is of critical importance. Given that you’re routinely audited and subject to the same scrutiny you received while in the classroom, it seems that your university is doing a good job of offering a comparable educational experience online.

    Personally, I’m fascinated by online learning and work with several writing clients via the Internet. In some ways my experience is tougher than print as everyone wants to ensure that what is published online meets or exceeds traditional measurable levels.

    Importantly, online education is all about access. I’m sure that some of your students would not have pursued their education unless they had some flexibility.

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