Online Students Happier Than On-campus Counterparts
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Students enrolled in online courses are happier with their education than their on-campus counterparts, according to a recent survey by eLearners.com. When eLearners surveyed a group of 178 students back in June, they found that 90 percent of those enrolled in online courses said their experience was "good or better" while only 77 percent of on-campus students gave the same response about their education.
Of the 178 people surveyed, 33 percent were taking online based programs, 7 percent were enrolled in campus based studies, and 48 percent had not yet enrolled in a post-secondary program. About 57 percent of those that haven't enrolled yet said that they intend to enroll in an online program and 83 percent of the students already taking online courses said they would recommend them to others.
Online learning's "reputation for potential employers" was the biggest concern for 54 percent of campus based students, where as, only 32 percent of those already enrolled in online programs felt this was an issue. Both groups sited concern about interactions and relationships in online learning as their second biggest concern.
eLearners.com CEO Andrew Gansler pointed out the uniqueness of the survey explaining, "We see a tremendous amount of research done on corporate and academic institutions' perspectives and burgeoning acceptance of online education, but we have not seen a lot from the consumer."
Improved instructional materials, better access to financial aid, and more instructional support, are the three top improvements that those consumers would like to see when it comes to online learning. However, online students also noted that "time/location flexibility" followed by the "format/style of instruction" were "the best part(s) of their educational experience." They also indicated that "having the discipline" to work on their studies and "making the time" for their online classes were the most challenging aspects of online learning.
When online students were asked what they thought were the biggest myths about online education their top three responses were "requires less time and effort", "the work is easier", and "it is a less effective educational/learning format." More than half of these students indicated that they spend more than 10 hours a week on their class work.
The eLearners survey also showed a strong difference in how on-campus and online students chose their post-secondary education. When asked what prompted them to choose the school they attended, 38 percent of campus based students said the school's reputation, 23 percent described their school as having the most appropriate program, and 23 percent sited "location/scheduling" as the deciding factor. In comparison, 54 percent of online students ranked "most appropriate program" as the most important factor, "location/scheduling" was the second highest response and only about 8 percent listed "reputation" as their top reason for selecting their school.
Gansler summarized the survey results saying, "The early adopter phase of online post secondary education is behind us now. Schools offering online programs are going to have to work even harder to attract new prospects, convince the fence sitters, and retain the converted."