Gas Prices Make Online Classes More Popular
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island 
on 07.12.08
High gas prices have had some positive effects, such as increasing the popularity of mass transit, cycling, and compact cars, as well as reducing the amount of miles that Americans drive. However, as the NY Times reported yesterday, gas prices are also causing a surge in enrollment in online courses, as students are increasingly finding it too expensive to drive to class. Whether or not online courses are effective can be debated, but few would argue that they can provide the same educational and social experience as traditional courses. One student summed it up best: “I don’t feel I get as much out of an online class as a campus course. . .But I couldn’t afford any other decision.” Yet at a time when America is falling behind in education (it has been for quite some time), we can't afford to diminish the quality of the education our students receive.
Alternatives Don't Sprout Overnight
The problem is that "of the nation’s 15 million college students — at least 79 percent — live off campus," and given how spoiled we have become by cheap gasoline, many of those students have never had to consider alternative ways of getting to class. What's more, now that they are looking for alternatives, often times they are lacking entirely or highly inefficient, since mass transit, bike lanes and cities designed on a human scale don't just sprout overnight. So instead, "colleges from Massachusetts and Florida to Texas to Oregon have reported significant online enrollment increases for summer sessions, with student numbers in some cases 50 percent or 100 percent higher than last year."
Online Courses Are No Silver Bullet
Still, online courses won't be solving all the problems associated with our car-dependent culture and high gas prices. For one thing, many of the students that are hardest hit by long commutes to class live in rural areas, where internet access is spotty and sometimes non-existent. Another problem is that "most colleges still offer only a fraction of their courses over the Internet."
For now, the best approach may be a "hybrid model" wherein a course has an online component as well as a classroom component, thereby reducing the need to drive to school without eliminating the classroom experience. But thinking long-term, America simply cannot allow its education system to be degraded further; add that to the laundry list of reasons for why we need alternatives not just to oil, but also to cars.
Via: ::NY Times
More on Gas Prices
American Gas Pains
Free Gas Becoming a Prize in State Lotteries
More Motorists Running Out of Gas
Vehicle Abstinence: Youths Waiting Longer to Drive
More on Car-Free Cities
CarFree City, USA: Walk Away From Oil
View Topic--Relocate to an Engineered Car-Free City
Car Free and Happy, Even Just For One Day
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Save Over $1,000 with These Six Green Tips
- 6 Driving Fundamentals You Must Master to Extend the Life of Your Vehicle
- Avoid Evaporating Gas: Park in the Shade and Buy Gas When it's Cool
- Green Glossary: Gas Guzzler
- Build a Greenhouse without Going Broke
- How to Cool Your Vehicle Quickly During the Intense Summer Heat and Reduce Your Carbon Emissions
For full time students, there is a better solution than anything mentioned in the NYT. Students actually live on campus, become part of the "community of scholars" (an idea from centuries ago that was ruined by marketing of commuter colleges) benefit from new relationships and get away from mom and dad so they can grow up.
How many college trustees benefited from investing in town houses outside of campus to rent to students, from turning colleges into marketing programs? Time for a rethink on a broader scale.
There are some universities which require all undergrad students to live in campus controlled housing throughout their academic life. Miraculously, they have good relationships with the surrounding community due to reduced number of problems with parking and slum landlords.
For full time students, there is a better solution than anything mentioned in the NYT. Students actually live on campus, become part of the "community of scholars" (an idea from centuries ago that was ruined by marketing of commuter colleges) benefit from new relationships and get away from mom and dad so they can grow up.
How many college trustees benefited from investing in town houses outside of campus to rent to students, from turning colleges into marketing programs? Time for a rethink on a broader scale.
There are some universities which require all undergrad students to live in campus controlled housing throughout their academic life. Miraculously, they have good relationships with the surrounding community due to reduced number of problems with parking and slum landlords.
I have to actually disagree, not all online school programs are easy, and it's a generalization to say that they are. I was an on campus student for years, but when I had my daughter I decided to finish school online, to be with her. That way I could do my school work and still spend time with her. Which was not as easy as I thought it would be, and a lot of people think it is easy. You have to have time management skills to do online work, and you have to be able to read A LOT. I took an Anthroplogy course last semester that was seven weeks, we covered ten chapters in seven weeks! That was sixty pages of reading every week, and reading the online lecture (which was very lengthy). We also had to write a five page report every week on a specific topic related to that weeks subject. Then there was the online discussions, which we shared our views as a class together, simulating a "class room" environment. If you didn't post grammatically correct, or withing a specific time frame, you would lose points. If you do all of this with a full load for every class, it can be very challenging. I took a class from the author of "The Idea of Wilderness", which was nominated for a pulitzer prize. His class was by far my most chalenging academically. He demanded that we perform to higher standards and wouldn't except mediocre work, by the end of the semester, only two of us would ace his final and only five of us had recieved A's (out of a class of about thirty). Remarkably, I learn better this way. I learn better when I am a hands on learner, I am a terrible listener. This way I have to actively seek out information, and actively read it. I can't rely only on lecture and notes. You could probably pass an online class without trying as hard as I do, but I doubt you would learn anything from it. Over the last year, I have learned so much, and I have retained it!! That is the true beauty of education.
The college down that's about a 30-45 minute drove from me would really benefit from mass transit. I thought about how many kids go from Conway, AR to Little Rock, AR or even North Little Rock,AR every weekend and how beneficial it would be if the largest university in that city offered a shuttle bus for their students...
It was just an idea.
Also a shuttle for students that live off campus in apartments would be nice as well.
I might have to talk to some of the students and see if they can get that started. =]
You bring up a good point. However, what about the non-convential student? One example, a single mother who works a full time job and travels to night classes. Online courses would be ideal.