Online Education can be great — as long as it has the right structure.
Education is moving online; like everything else. Traditional universities (and new organizations) are working to build a meaningful presence in the online education.
Some programs are what I call “degree factories” . They are basically selling a degree to students who are willing to pay. Online programs can have less overhead and be a high margin offering. This allows traditional schools to exploit their name to sell online training videos. This type of program is compromising the integrity of education in general — especially online education.
But there is another type of online education program emerging.
Programs that are thoughtfully developed to foster real learning in an online environment. Well designed programs can give broader access to education because it is no longer limited by geography.
Online programs are are preparing a workforce that can manage relationships and get stuff done in an online environment.
With the growing ubiquity of remote workers this is important for today’s workforce. Because of the online skill development, an online program can offer more practical development to prepare students for the workforce. To read more on this see, 6 Reasons that Online Students have an Advantage in the Modern Workforce.
But the problem can be determining what type of program are you joining. You cannot let a school’s prestigious name or a high price tag fool you.
I believe that you learn from interacting with people.
Those interactions do not have to be physical & face to face. But you cannot expect a great education from watching videos and completing computer based exams. For education to be worth it, there has to be a relational component — otherwise just read a book.
Below are a few things to consider that can help you to select a program where you will be interacting with real people.
This will help to make learning online an asset, not a liability.
1. Be sure that live professors teach the courses.
You want real time collaborative feedback on your work. Higher education you talk about ideas, not just receive information. You need a real professor that will give input on your work.
2. Be sure that you have classmates. But not too many.
My program had 10–20 students in each course. This allowed for meaningful interactions with peers. We often had group work. This has helped me to build out a professional network — an invaluable part of grad school.
3. A Rolling start date is a good sign that you won’t have classmates or a live professor.
That’s just not manageable. Look for a semester based schedule.
4. Don’t let a big name school fool you.
I said this above — but online education can be a big business, look into the program not just the brand name.
5. Be sure that you have an academic advisor.
Just like in a traditional program you will need a live person to help you map out the most meaningful course of study for you. This depends on your goals and passions. An academic advisor can (and should) help you map this out.
For grad school to be beneficial, it is about what you can learn and how you can develop — not just purchasing a degree.
