The incessant beeping of your alarm clock wakes you. You roll over, shut it off, and stumble your way to class, still in your pajamas and bed-hair. Sound like a nightmare or a dream come true? If you're en route to a lecture in Anderson, you might want to consider throwing some clothes on and dragging a comb through your hair. But for students attending virtual universities, this is just the type of flexibility they need in their continuing education.
Virtual universities are part of a growing trend known as "distance learning," a method of education that allows students to earn degrees from the comfort of their own home and according to their own schedule. People in today's job market need advanced skills and degrees to compete in their fields, but many do not have the time to attend a university fulltime. Educators realize this and have since reacted, creating an opportunity for higher education while still maintaining a fulltime job.
Different methods of distance learning include television, videotaped lectures, written correspondence, and Web-based learning such as chat rooms, e-mail, and discussion boards.
Due to the popularity of her class, "Genetics, Ethics, and the Law," Professor Ronnee Yashon teaches sections of her course online. All sections of her course rely heavily Tufts' CourseInfo site, submitting papers and retrieving documents and grades online.
Although she is not involved in a virtual degree program, Yashon has plenty of experience with distance learning. When presented with the opportunity to teach a course in New Hampshire, she decided to design an online course instead of moving there. "It just sort of spread," she explained.
Yashon has positive feelings toward virtual universities. "I think that, first of all, if it allows people who normally wouldn't be able to go to college or get into a program, it's terrific," she said.
"The major positive that I think about online courses is, number one, that busy people can fit it in and the ability to do it at your own speed," Yashon said. "People have other lives and they just can't get away to spend hours and hours in a classroom."
But don't get the impression that a distance degree program is a simple way to avoid early-morning classes or that it can easily be handled alongside a full-time job. Such courses are just as difficult as their conventional counterparts. Papers are submitted via e-mail and online drop boxes ? an added bonus for the environmentally aware ? and exams are administered online as well. Some professors also choose to use chat rooms and bulletin boards for their students to interact with each other.
Yashon says that the problem with class chats is that it takes away the convenience factor that is essential to most online students. "Everyone has to be online at the same time [for a chat room], which is exactly like having a class," she explained.
Many who feel wary of distance learning argue that students suffer from this lack of interaction with other students, as well as with their professors.
"The major negative that people see is that the interaction between students and between students and instructors is minimal," she said.
Yashon made the distinction between interaction and face-to-face interaction. While the latter may not be present with distance learning, she dismisses the idea that this precludes interaction entirely. "I have tremendous interaction with students," she said. "And who's to say that you don't learn just as much without that interaction?"
"I don't feel that you miss that much. It depends on your major," Yashon said. "You can see how a masters degree in accounting would be easier than getting a degree in biology." She pointed out that the hands-on nature of such fields as biology and chemistry would require additional lab work.
The concept of a virtual university is not a new one. In the past, students could attend universities through traditional "snail mail". These "correspondence" classes weren't always taken as seriously as regular classes, which is a prejudice that virtual universities also face.
"[Correspondence classes] got a bad reputation because they weren't accredited by major universities," Yashon said.
To avoid a similar fate, virtual universities work hard to establish themselves as institutions. As more and more major schools establish courses and degree programs on the Web, distance learning is gaining more respect. Schools such as Duke and Columbia, as well as Tufts, offer courses online.
The Distance Graduation Accrediting Association (DGAA) provides a standard to which nontraditional universities are measured. Employers can ensure the reliability of an online institution through this accreditation the same as they would with a traditional university. The difference here is that the DGAA doesn't assess the individual programs of the university; rather, major corporations from around the world measure the acceptability of the degrees awarded.
The ability of an institution to produce qualified applicants through a full-distance graduation program determines the accreditation. Each institution must also prove its reliability and opportunity for career advancement. Traditional on-campus learning is not a factor in the accreditation process. The DGAA protects the best interests of the student by distinguishing legally recognized programs from Internet scams.
Whether learning in a traditional classroom or online, different benefits and drawbacks present themselves. Finding the right method, though, may require a simple self-assessment. "I don't think that you're necessarily losing anything [through online courses]," Yashon said. "It's all in how the student looks at it. Everyone learns differently."
