High gas prices, well above $4 a gallon in most parts of California as well as most parts of the country, have caused a new trend in higher education: online classes.
Four-year institutions and especially two-year institutions have seen surges in enrollment for online-only classes this summer, and many of the students surveyed are citing gas costs and transportation-related issues as their motives for taking online classes.
This opportunity to cut costs in regards to education without having to completely cut back is a plus for financially limited students.
However, we hope that online classes do not become a norm in higher education. The University of California, Los Angeles does offer a number of online classes during the summer and other esteemed institutions such as Villanova and the University of Massachusetts include large online departments.
Online lecture slides or podcasts cannot replace the experience of an intimate face-to-face discussion section or a heated and informative debate between classmates.
The ideal situation would obviously be lower gas prices, to increase accessibility and build a stronger economy.
But between not enrolling in classes at all and opting for education via the World Wide Web, the latter is a viable option for the percentage of the country’s 15 million college students that are strapped for cash.
In a perfect world, everyone should be able to easily attain a quality education they desire. Regularly taking online courses reduces the quality of one’s education.