At a time when many simple daily tasks can be completed in a virtual sphere, it seems as if the sky is the limit.
Higher education’s quest to tackle the online world can be traced as far back 1984, when the New York Institute of Technology created a “virtual campus” that allowed people to work from home at their own convenience.@@http://www.nyit.edu/about_nyit/nyit_at_a_glance/history/@@ Nearly 27 years later@@yes@@, online education’s popularity continues to soar despite the stagnating increase in the nation’s on-campus population.
According to the 2011 Survey of Online Learning that was conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group and the College Board, over 6.1 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2010 term@@http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/going_distance_2011@@, indicating that nearly one-third of all students in higher education are taking at least one online course@@http://www.techjournalsouth.com/2011/11/nearly-a-third-of-higher-ed-students-take-at-least-one-online-course/@@. Despite the nearly 2 percent growth rate in the overall higher education student population nationwide, the country’s online class enrollment growth rate is nearly 10 percent — a statistic that is consistent with many universities across the country as working students try to find a way to incorporate educational endeavors into their already-busy lives.@@http://www.techjournalsouth.com/2011/11/nearly-a-third-of-higher-ed-students-take-at-least-one-online-course/@@
Over the past six years, the University’s own Distance Learning Program has experienced an exponential growth in its curriculum and student enrollment. Between 2005 and 2010, statistics provided by the Office of the Registrar revealed that the program experienced a 57 percent increase in the number of classes offered to students from 126 to 198. @@checked@@The program also saw a 44 percent increase in the amount of students enrolled in online classes from 4,577 to 6,608 students. @@checked@@This fall term alone, there are 1,624 University students enrolled in online classes.
Lisa Templeton, executive director of Oregon State University’s Extended Campus program@@http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/faculty-enews/spring2010/@@, explained that many of the students who are enrolled in online classes are adults who have other commitments, such as caring for loved ones, serving in the military or having full-time jobs that would, under realistic circumstances, inhibit them from attending regularly scheduled class lectures. Because of these restrictions, Templeton said the online courses offered by the Extended Campus program provides flexibility and convenience for these types of students to work and focus on their course work at their own leisure.
For many students, including those who live in Corvallis, this need seems to be growing. Between 2008 and 2011, the Oregon State University’s Extended Campus program experienced a 54 percent increase in online enrollment through class credit. Last year alone, 32,906 students from all 50 states and nearly 20 countries across the world participated in the program.
“I think it’s a real need for some students,” Templeton said. “It’s a real solution to busy lives and for people who are working and juggling multiple things and have a goal to finishing or completing a degree.”
Templeton noted that some of the drawbacks associated with taking online courses are that students have to be self-motivated in order to succeed in their courses because they are not obligated to be in the classrooms with their teachers and participate in the same way as other students, including in class discussions and pop quizzes.
“You really can’t let yourself get behind and you really have to stay on task and be motivated,” Templeton said.
