Online course enrollment grows
Published Sept. 9, 2003
Those who were once unable to continue their college education because of time constraints are finding it easier to do so now thanks to the Internet.
The number of students taking online courses to enhance or further their education is growing fast, according to a survey by the Sloan Consortium. Nationally, more than 1.6 million students took at least one online course during fall 2002.
"Our data, based on chief academic officers reporting their current and projected online enrollments, indicates that online education is growing at a rate of 19.8 percent for the current year," said Jeff Seaman, spokesman for the Sloan Consortium.
At MU, the number of students participating in online courses is also on the rise.
"We have seen a lot of growth just in the time we have had WebCT and Blackboard on the Mizzou campus," Learning Technologies Coordinator Danna Vessell said.
MU Direct, a program that offers courses online, allows students to take classes without interfering with their jobs or family lives.
"Students who take MU Direct are generally part-time," said Lynne Pye, senior continuing education coordinator. "They are typically in their 30s to 40s and coming back to continue school after working, although there are students of every age from their 20s to their 80s."
MU Direct's enrollment is at 1,905. The enrollment number is based on how many people are enrolled in each course, so if one person is taking three classes, he or she is counted three times.
Many courses offer credit toward master's degrees, because most students already have bachelor's degrees, although courses can also be used for bachelor's credit, Pye said.
Faculty members create online courses that they are teaching in class and use the same textbooks online as they do in their classes on campus, Pye said.
"The only difference is that both the instructors and students have to make more of an effort to communicate as they don't see each other in person," she said.
While the number of online courses continues to increase, in-person classes are not going to disappear, Pye said.
"Both types of classes are needed," she said. "They serve different audiences."
Online courses allow MU to provide service to a wider audience.
"Part of our mission is to serve all the students of the state," Pye said. "Students can take a course from MU with MU quality from MU professors without having to leave their homes."
On campus, faculty members also use online programs such as WebCT and Blackboard to offer more in-depth coverage of materials taught in class.
"Using Blackboard and WebCT can allow the instructor to provide a more rich course environment, give supplemental information, automate quizzes, provide discussion boards, let students check their grades and e-mail their students," Vessell said. "Good teaching is good teaching no matter what format it takes."