When the Covid pandemic hit in early 2020, the entire world was forced to go into a lockdown, and schools, colleges, malls and more shut down indefinitely. Before that, online education was limited to following classes and YouTube, and opportunities to pursue distance education were few and far in between. However, in the last two years, the quality of online education has grown exponentially, and today students have much better opportunities for online higher education. However, before deciding to take up higher education online, it is important to understand its pros and cons.
Pros of Online Higher Education
There are many advantages to online education. For some students, such an education is ideal. Let us understand the pros further:
- Flexibility of time – Since students are not attending classes in person, they can take advantage of recorded classes and online learning. This is especially useful for those who want to take up higher education simultaneously with a job or other responsibilities.
- Heading – Online learning can allow students to explore a few courses in the curriculum before deciding on a career. Students can do this by taking online courses or attending guest lectures by the professors.
- Cost – While the tuition costs incurred in both online and offline learning are the same, students can still save significantly more on boarding, food and other facilities offered on campus.
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- Freedom to decide the learning pace – Some students are fast learners, while others work at a slower pace. Online learning gives students the freedom to learn at their own pace and take longer or shorter time as per their requirements.
Cons of Online Higher Education
Online education as a concept is still at a nascent stage, and there are many ways in which it can improve. Some of these are:
- Lack of feedback mechanisms – In Online education, students miss out on many interaction opportunities with their professors, and they might have to make do without getting a lot of feedback from them.
- Campus-life experience – Living on campus teaches students many skills, like independent living, taking care of your own food and coffee, doing your own laundry and more. Students in online learning may choose to live at home, and as such they miss out on these learning opportunities.
- Social Isolation – Students learning online might not have the need to visit campus. They would miss out on an important bonding opportunity because of this. This can even lead to social isolation, loneliness, or even the inability to effectively communicate.
- Limited availability of courses – Online learning has not yet been adapted to accommodate all courses with the same level of efficiency as offline learning.
Final Words
In conclusion, as seen in this article, there are many pros and cons to online higher education. With the passing of time, the opportunities that are available for students wanting to pursue online education are improving and becoming more abundant. A student should carefully introspect and understand these nuances if they want to pursue online learning. They should also know their individual priorities. This will help them choose the right form of higher education for themselves.
About the Author – Eric Wyatt
Eric Wyatt is an entrepreneur who runs an agency that helps students who aspire to study internationally. In 2020, he expanded his agency to bring education to every deserving student despite the physical constraints enforced by social distancing. Today, he successfully enables students across the world to get access to online education, live sessions with teachers and more. His vision is to develop a robust online education system in the future.