Marshall sees growing trend of internet classes

More students are turning to online courses for education.  Marshall has seen an increase in the number of online courses offered and the number of students enrolled in online courses.

The university is following a national trend of increasing online education interest.  More than 3.9 million students in the U.S. took at least one online course during fall 2007, the Babson Survey Research Group reported in 2008.

According to Marshall University Information Technology, 4,794 students are enrolled in an online course right now, up from 3,695 students last fall, and a big reason is the mobility online classes offer.

“There is a great deal of convenience and flexibility,” Provost Gayle Ormiston said.
Many students who have jobs, families or an obligation to travel are turning to online courses.

It is a lot easier because you can access it anytime, said Rachael Siders, junior elementary education major from Point Pleasant, W.Va.

“It is a result of the change in culture that we’re in, because it’s not necessarily convenient or preferable for somebody to go through a traditional college program,” said Deanna Mader, online faculty coordinator.

Military students benefit greatly from having access to their classes anytime.

“I regularly have students who are stationed somewhere else,” Mader said.

However, some students prefer to go to a live classroom.

Victor Brodowski, junior history major from Asheville, N.C., said if students have a physical place to go, they are more likely to do their schoolwork.

“I don’t like the lack of human interaction,” Brodowski said about online courses.

“I think you can learn more with a professor in front of you,” Siders said.

Technological capabilities also add to the overall attraction to online courses.

“I think we’re seeing the results of the increasing quality of technology and increasing use of technology,” Mader said.  Students of this generation grew up with computers as part of their lifestyles.

One such technology is the Wimba Classroom.  Wimba is a set of communication tools professors can utilize for engaging online students in the classroom.  Wimba voice and podcast tools have been available to faculty for three years, and Wimba Classroom was added in summer 2008.  It is a two-way, live video of a class that enables students to experience the live classroom anywhere, said Monica Brooks, assistant vice president for information technology.
   Faculty members are being encouraged and offered a stipend to use this technology and to develop more online courses.  According to the Information Technology office, the number of online courses offered is progressively increasing.  The university offered 143 online courses in fall 2007 and 151 online courses in fall 2008.  This fall 159 online courses are being offered.
 

  “They are paid a stipend if they are willing to develop a course,” Mader said.
 

  Donna Spindel, dean of the Graduate College, has been teaching online classes for 10 years. 
 

  “Almost anything any instructor might do in a physical classroom can really be duplicated online,” Spindel said.
 

  Spindel said some students are more comfortable communicating with professors through online discussion and chat tools, and some prefer the communication in a live classroom.

But not everyone agrees with Spindel. 
A.J. Webb, sophomore political science major from Ironton, Ohio, said professors don’t respond to students in a timely manner, if at all.
  

One misconception among students is the cost of online courses.  Online courses actually cost less than live courses, according to the Information Technology office.
 

  For an online course, undergraduate students pay a fee of $197 per credit hour.  This is a flat rate; it is the same for in-state and out-of-state students.   The base tuition rate for one credit hour in a live classroom is $218.75.  However, live classroom rates fluctuate depending on the college or department.
  

According to the Financial Aid Office, the Promise Scholarship will pay the fee for online courses up to $2,618.      
  

Marshall offers online master’s degrees in elementary or secondary education and minors in history and geography.  No undergraduate degrees may be completed fully online, but administrators are working to include one.
  

“We are encouraging faculty to develop more courses for online,” Brooks said.  “Our provost is very excited about encouraging academic divisions to develop full degree programs.”
  

“To be competitive in today’s market, you have to be online,” Mader said.

   Staci Standiford can be reached at standiford1@marshall.edu.