By Lea Abito | Staff Writer
Summer A has begun, and with it, an influx of online classes that students may learn little in.
However, the summer semester is only one symptom of a much larger issue.
At Florida International University, dozens of courses are offered online, some of which have no in-person counterpart.
While online classes themselves aren’t the problem, only offering online options, especially for core courses, is.
Through FIU Online, where students can complete a degree or certificate without ever setting foot in a classroom, there are over 120 online programs, over 5,100 fully online courses, and around 37,000 students enrolled in online courses annually.
Choosing to pursue a degree fully online is a decision a student makes because it best fits their life and circumstances.
But for an in-person student pursuing an in-person degree, there can be several drawbacks.
Though FIU Online says they are providing students “with the opportunity to earn more than a degree.”
While this may be true in some regards, as online classes offer incredible opportunities, accessibility, and flexibility, especially for non-traditional students and those with responsibilities beyond a class schedule, online classes also take away much from fully in-person students.
The “learn at your pace” concept of online classes often results in procrastination, ChatGPT discussion posts, and not retaining information.
In my experience and what I have heard from friends and classmates, taking a class online makes it seem less serious and less important.
It becomes something you can brush through with fewer thoughts.
This is detrimental to classes necessary for your degree and future, not just random electives.
But in an in-person class, you’re naturally more likely to put in real effort to pass, and more importantly, to learn from.
Online classes instead diminish personal motivation and can lead to not caring about the class at all.
Cheating or using AI is also more tempting.
While searching for classes for fall, I noticed some have a single in-person option, and what seems to be dozens and dozens of online options.
This scarcity of in-person classes forces students online, making it the only choice or risk potentially delaying graduation or overdoing it in a future semester.
The endless options make them even more tempting because they are easy and can become background noise to your course load.
And while there is no doubt that online classes are generally simpler, that is part of the problem.
The simplicity and freedom create issues in time management, self-discipline, and accountability.
I even find myself cutting corners sometimes, simply because the course is online, and that alone is a reason to pay less attention.
Online courses also tend to be less engaging and more textbook-based. And who wants to read a textbook all day?
The classes are already structured in a way that makes them difficult to commit to, and that is a problem when they are for classes vital to your major and career, which require commitment.
In an effort to avoid the boredom that online classes can create, I try my best to avoid them, yet every semester I end up taking one or two.
Sometimes they are inescapable because they are the only option available, but I likely would have learned better if those classes were in-person.
But they would have needed to be offered in person in the first place.
For the summer semester, it’s especially worse because many students complete the university-required summer enrollment (for students entering with fewer than 60 credits) online, as it allows them to be remote and enjoy their summers
Students sometimes end up taking important courses both online and over the summer, which is a recipe for potential disaster.
Certain classes, especially required core courses and major-specific requirements, and even upper-division coursework, should be taken in person for in-person students.
Though there’s no disregarding the practical use of online classes in some cases, the classroom environment and professor engagement can never be effectively substituted with anything.
But if a student truly wants to excel, taking the critical classes in-person is the key.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
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