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Getting More Bang for Your Online Study Buck
By Wendy Croix
Learning & Life Columnist
January 31, 2006
Getting the most for your money with a self-enrichment class or serious degree program isn't all that different online from getting the most out of an on-campus education. As the old adage goes, "the more you do, the more comes back to you."
- The Personal Attention Factor: Your online instructor will know your name. After all, it's there on your email. You'll find these one-on-ones with your teacher inviting - especially if you're intimidated by making an appointment with a professor in the flesh. If you have a pressing question, you don't have to wait for a professor's often limited office hours to ask it.
- The Fun Factor: Online universities recognize the need for student social contact just as campus schools do. That's why you can go to the virtual student union to meet your fellow students and chat them up. Online students go for the education, but many come away with strong friendships based on mutual interests.
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Other advantages of online education come easy as well. Granted, some are all about the comforts of home, but others might mean more money in your pocket:
- The Commute Factor: No doubt about it. Virtual "commuting" is a breeze. When your class comes to you, instead of the other way around, you waste not a single minute of your study time on the road fighting the traffic. In case you haven't noticed, gas isn't free - but online "commuting" is.
- The Convenience Factor: You'll study at the time of day that fits your schedule, whether it's before the crack of dawn or way past midnight.
- The Comfort Factor: To be sure, students stopped dressing for success on campus in the eighties. Still, nobody comes to class in their pajamas. Take a course online, though, and you can come to "class" in your comfort clothes.
The advantages of online education add up. All you need to do to rake in these benefits is come to class - even if class is being held on your living room sofa or in your breakfast nook.
Sources:
- "Bricks and Clicks: A Comparative Analysis of Online and Traditional Educational Settings," by Freda Turner and Jack Crews.
- "Going the Distance," by Sherry Reuter and Rosalind E. Schwartzberg. Applied Clinical Trials 13.10 (Oct 2004).
- "More students earning degrees online," by Blanca Torres. The Baltimore Sun (MD). (Jun 19, 2005).
- "Survey Says Online Learning Equal to Classroom Instruction," by Ronald Roach. Black Issues in Higher Education 20.16 (Sep 25, 2003).
About the Author
Wendy Croix, Ph.D. is a freelance writer, cultural critic and university professor. In her twenty years as a professional educator, Wendy has guided hundreds of students toward the careers of their dreams.
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