What Life Factors can Influence Your Choices?
Remember back in high school when you were gearing up for high school graduation and you felt as if you had the world at your fingertips? Remember your dreams, inspirations, and goals that you had in front of you and were determined to reach them? You were faced with decisions to make which at this time seemed like the biggest decision of your life. Somehow you were able to narrow down your school choice, get accepted and you were off to a new chapter in your life.
As an established professional, the decision process for graduate school may be different for you. There may be other factors that come in to play such as a full-time job, taking care of your family, attending your children’s events or arranging a babysitter, financially there may be more of a concern now that it isn’t just about you but also your family that you have to support while meeting your educational goals. While having all of these things on your plate, and more life experiences, students are left with several choices to make.
One of the choices that we seem to be facing more now than ever is if a class can be taken online or face to face. When you have the option to do either one, there is a great deal of thought that needs to go into this decision.
Online Classes
Online classes can be completed out of the comfort of your own home. This often is a bonus as there is usually a little more flexibility with online courses than face-to-face courses that are on campus. Traveling is something that is no longer taking up time or impacting your schedule. Instead this time can be spent on other things that need your attention.
Online classes do appear to be beneficial for students who have a busy life. Convenience is typically the leading factor of students taking online courses but there are several other things to consider as well. Having reliable internet access is a must. This may require updating or upgrading your internet service, which often times there is an added fee to this with your provider. Also, having a quiet undistracted area is important. Students are still considered to “have class” and the content needs to be taken seriously, just as if you were on campus.
Lastly, one of the most important details of taking an online course is that students must be organized and discipline to log on when they need to and meet all the deadlines. There no longer is a professor in front of you making sure you are taking care of your responsibilities. There is more put on your shoulders to meet all requirements of the class without ever steeping on campus.
On Campus
Taking courses on campus, whether you are a traditional or nontraditional student, there are several pros and cons. First, you are very locked into a schedule. For some, this structure is what helps students thrive. You know where to be and can guarantee your class is being held the same time every week. When arriving to class there is time to socialize or discuss possible assignments or upcoming events. Sitting in class allows you to have open discussions or ask questions freely when the instructor is giving instruction. There is also time at the end of class that you can approach the instructor if you need clarification of a topic that was just covered. When you attend online courses, not one of these things mentioned are an option. You miss out on the interactions with other students in your class, which means also that the rich discussion seems to disappear when you are taking classes in a virtual world.
College campuses also offer a tremendous amount of resources; library, gym, health office, availability to meet with your assigned academic advisor or any of your instructors. Until you experience what is on campus, you truly don’t realize all that the campus has to offer.
Hybrid Model
Colleges have offered face-to-face on-campus courses and online learning for years. Something that seems to be a newer option of taking courses is called the hybrid model. A hybrid learning platform can offer what seems to be the best of both worlds. It helps with the balance of “life” and offers both modalities to help you be the most successful. Flexibility is truly the key to this model and often the gravitational force that draws students to enroll. Having the mix of both the online learning platform as well as face-to-face campus instruction, truly empowers students to take charge of their learning experiences inside and outside of the classrooms and also allows them to track their achievements.
Having these three options benefits all learning and life styles. It is up to the students to decide what truly is the best fit and what learning platform they will succeed in and accomplish their educational goals.
