There’s a misconception that online classes are easier than in-person classes, but coronavirus has shown that online classes aren’t ideal for every student. For many colleges, the spring semester is coming to an end and questions about the fall semester are starting to arise.
I think most students are eager to return to the classroom but some students think online classes may become the norm for inexpensive and public colleges. This is one issue where the cheapest way out isn’t the best solution for anyone.
Tony Marx, CEO of the New York Public Library and former president of Amherst College, thinks colleges will take this as an opportunity to permanently transition to online classes because it is a cheaper option.
On an episode of “Influencer with Andy Serwer” Marx stated, “A tiny slice of American elite will go to those kinds of places, and the bifurcation that we see in the economy will be replicated even further than it already is in higher education. I worry that this experience of online is going to sort of exacerbate that.”
He continues discussing how this pandemic can affect funding to public colleges. Marx says, ”It will be very tempting, for instance, for state legislators to say this online learning seems to work very well. Why are we paying for running a state university, a flagship, let’s just go online. It’s much cheaper.”
I know this is a capitalist country and officials in power value cost over quality, so I agree with Marx when he speaks about temptation. However, when it comes to education, people have different ways of learning. As a result of this, I don’t think colleges will transition to online classes completely. College is expensive and if students are going to take out loans, then they should be getting the best environments to learn in. I think the push back against permanent online learning that will come from students and faculty will be enough to stop officials from taking the cheapest way out.
Another reason all online classes won’t be beneficial is because the majority of students haven’t been adjusting to the new format that well. Switching to online education was necessary because depriving students from any learning experiences for months was unfair. However, online instruction only works for specific classes like religion courses because they don’t require labs and hands-on experience to understand the lectures. Even in those cases, open discussions and the ability to ask questions in real time is taken away. This causes limitations to the amount of information students are able to gain from the classes.
University online instruction courses are extremely different from watching YouTube videos but provide the same experience of sitting in front of a laptop, watching lectures, and teaching yourself the material. However, the former makes you pay an estimated $50,000 a year. Switching to online only for colleges that are advertised as inexpensive will change how the college experience is viewed in society. As a result, people may take their education into their own hands and college won’t even be considered an option.