Higher education is changing at an alarming rate. Online learning is becoming a far more important and realistic investment for colleges, including at Olivet Nazarene University. With the implementation of such technologies and structures, questions of education quality arise.
Rochelle Brock, Associate Dean of Curriculum Delivery at Olivet’s School of Graduate and Continuing Studies, says things were far different from when she was younger.
“When I went to college, it was understood that you had to go to class and take it in a physical building,” she said. “In the 90’s, if you took any kind of college course other than that, it was considered subpar.”
She’s not wrong. In 2019, the global E-Learning market value was estimated to be around 144 billion according to a news release published by GlobeNewswire. This estimate is projected to nearly triple by 2026.
“In 2014, the perception was still that [online learning] wasn’t as high quality as face to face. There weren’t a lot of mainstream schools in the marketplace,” Brock said. “The graduate school did face-to-face and online in 2014. Now, in 2021, we are solely online.”
According to a study published in The Digest of Education Statistics, online enrollment for undergraduate students rose from 15.4% in 2004 to 43.1% in 2016 alone. This is before COVID-19 forced many students online.
Brock thinks there is clearly a high amount of demand for such modes of learning, and now almost all schools offer some sort of online programs for students.
“In the past 5 years, we have major players moving into the marketplace,” she said. “Now, more universities are making a push to ensure quality in their online education. There is a lot of work to be done, still. Courses all need to be created with the end in mind. What is going to prove mastery of the course objectives? They shouldn’t be doing any assignments that don’t contribute to that end goal” she said.
The quality of online learning has become a hot-button topic for many since the beginning of the pandemic. ONU students and faculty alike have their own opinions on the subject.
It’s pretty nice. I like that I can go at my own pace with it and get it done when I need to.
Jake Bumgardner, Junior at Olivet Nazarene University
I think it’s pointless if tests and quizzes aren’t proctored. I know monitoring tools can be extreme, but a good balance is better than nothing.
Carolyn Richards, Sophomore AT OLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSITY
Terrence Guy, a senior at ONU, thinks that although online material is sometimes hard to focus on, but is ultimately good due to the accessibility it gives to students.
“As a senior I’ve worked through multiple different methods of teaching,” Guy said. “It’s a good method because it doesn’t penalize someone for not going to class, the material is available at all times.”
Levi Brock, a junior at ONU, likes the way classes are structured as they are now. Similarly to the opinions of Terrence, he thinks the accessibility options are beneficial for students.
“I think Olivet’s current method of instruction delivery is actually pretty good. It helps students move at their own pace, and online lectures aren’t the worst,” he said.
Other students across the country find online schooling to be far more challenging, though. According to an article published in the New York Times, a lot of students are struggling through their online courses.
A common thread throughout the interviews conducted by the Times is that students have a hard time structuring their lives. The structure granted to them by a school schedule seems to ground many students, allowing them to achieve far more.
The question of when online schooling will be solidified in our culture is not a matter of if, but when. Now, more than ever, schools must begin to shift historical educational structures. The world of online learning, once a distant dream, is here.
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