Author: Sydney Roker
Graphics: Business Review at Berkeley
Shifts towards online education, despite potentially reducing university costs, have begun to have an adverse effect on academic outcomes, and have led to an increase in the isolation of college students.
Inside the Rise of Online Course Offerings by Universities
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, universities have rapidly expanded their online course offerings. An increasing number of classes at colleges and universities, including at UC Berkeley, are accessible for students without ever having to step outside of their dorm rooms. However, the online education revolution has raised concerns about potential negative impacts on campus culture, decreased learning outcomes and increased isolation amongst students.
Covid-19 Pandemic Inspires Post-Secondary Education Shift
Although many universities offered online courses prior to 2020, the percentage of courses offered online by those institutions is far higher in the post-pandemic era. During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, students and professors were forced to familiarize themselves with online education platforms. At the same time, investments into these platforms caused them to become more user-friendly and sophisticated, resulting in online education feeling more manageable and accessible. Many students also found that they not only tolerated online education platforms, but actually preferred them. The comfort and convenience of learning from home became the new norm, and even after it was safe enough for students to return to campus, there was an increased demand for online courses at colleges and universities nationwide. According to analyses on U.S. Department of Education data, if the Covid-19 pandemic had not occurred, the percentage of college students who took at least one online course in the fall of 2023 (54.3%) would be at least 25% lower.
Online Education Can Reduce Administrative Costs
The increase in online course offerings not only benefits those students who prefer the online education model, but also often benefits the universities providing those courses, as they can profit from potential reductions in the expenses associated with online course offerings. In the wake of nationwide government funding cuts for education, the cost savings that can result from shifting additional courses online may now be financially necessary for some institutions of higher education. Some studies have found that online education can reduce institutional costs by up to 50% per credit hour, due in part to savings in overhead costs such as those associated with the provision and maintenance of classroom spaces. In addition, online courses can potentially accommodate more students, as the constraints of fitting students into a lecture hall are removed.
With the University of California hiring freeze still in place, UC Berkeley and other UC campuses may be among those institutions that are forced to turn to online courses more frequently. This shift would not only potentially reduce costs, but could also accommodate professors who, by avoiding a commute to campus, would have additional time to focus on teaching, research and other pursuits. As discussed below, online courses raise the risk of a less engaging and effective academic experience for students. However, the bottom line is that online courses can be less expensive for universities to offer, and may be more appealing to professors due to the convenience of the remote teaching experience. In what seems to be a new landscape of university funding, some universities may find that these factors outweigh the potential downsides of online classes.
Online Courses Save Students Money
An increase in the percentage of online courses offered by universities sometimes leads to a decrease in the expenses associated with offering those courses for those institutions. Students, however, have also been able to save money by opting for virtual class options. Many college students are able to commute from home much more easily when they are able to take classes virtually, which cuts down (or eliminates altogether) the number of days that they need to travel to their university’s campus. For in-state students at UC Berkeley, for example, the cost of on campus dormitories and meal plans often exceeds the cost of tuition itself. Students that are able to live with their families as a result of not having to commute to campus daily are able to save an average of over $10,000 per year, and other students are able to reduce costs by living in areas that are less expensive than university-adjacent housing. Students who no longer need to drive to campus daily are, of course, also able to save on costs such as gas and parking fees. Furthermore, asynchronous online courses offer students the flexibility of watching lectures on their own schedules, which may allow them to more easily work part-time, or even full-time, jobs.
The Cost of Convenience
Decreased Student Interaction Pushes Loneliness Epidemic
While it is true that online courses have the potential to make college more convenient and less expensive for students, those benefits are often accompanied by the loss of other, equally important aspects of the college experience. For one, studies have found that students find that remote classes often result in less engagement by students with their professors and their peers. In-person courses offer students the ability to communicate, collaborate and connect with their peers and with their instructors in ways that online courses are unable to fully replicate. The online education model’s pursuit of an increase in flexibility, and a decrease in costs, therefore ultimately leads to the sacrifice of the essence of what makes the college experience transformative: human connection.
This sacrifice comes at a time when the isolation epidemic is at an all time high. 18–24 year olds are most affected by this epidemic, with 79% saying that they feel isolated. Given that this increase in isolation has such an impact on college students, the elimination of the social and academic exchanges, and face-to-face interactions that result from in-person classes is potentially harmful to the overall mental health of students. While virtual classes can attempt to replicate classroom dynamics, they rarely capture the depth and authenticity of in-person relationships.
Student Learning Outcomes Lowered Through Online Classes
In addition to encouraging decreased connections amongst students, evidence shows that online classes are generally not as effective as in-person classes in terms of student’s’ academic performance. Studies consistently find that academic performance is lower when students learn material solely through online platforms, even when that learning takes place on a platform like Zoom where there is synchronous communication between students and instructors.
Drawbacks of Online Education Outweigh Short-Term Cost Cutting
Given that the drawbacks of online learning are so significant, the convenience and the potential cost reductions that it offers do not warrant the widespread expansion of virtual education at the cost of a significant decrease in the prevalence of face-to-face, in-person classes. Ultimately, an education that is conducted largely online leads to an adverse effect on academic outcomes, and to an increase in the isolation of college students, and that combination of detrimental consequences generally outweighs the less significant benefits of an education that is primarily obtained through a computer screen.
Take-Home Points
- The Covid-19 pandemic led to the normalization of virtual courses.
- Universities, including UC Berkeley, are increasingly turning to online courses to reduce costs.
- Many students prefer online classes due to the flexibility and comfortability it provides.
- Despite this, online course offerings have led to decreased learning outcomes, and have only exasperated the post pandemic rise in student isolation.