The Journal

Online education has its benefits, such as not having to worry about parking or wearing pants.

But a recent report commissioned by the Department of Education concluded that online education may also be better than traditional classroom education.

"On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face education," states the 93-page report by SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research company.

The report was a review of studies, published from 1996 to 2008, focusing on comparing online education to its face-to-face counterpart.

Kevin Miller, a sophomore undecided major at Webster University, said he agreed with the study and felt he learned the material better than he would have in a traditional setting.

Miller said the class he was taking, XHTML, a computer programming language, could have been boring if he had taken it in a traditional setting.

"I feel like taking the class online gave me the opportunity to have more quality work," said Miller, who has taken business math and XHTML online at WU.

"Part of the reason students do better online is because they can't sit in the back of class and hide," said Bruce Umbaugh, who teaches Ethics in Cyberspace, an online course offered at WU.

"If you don't speak up, you're not there," Umbaugh said. "Everyone gets a chance to participate (in an online class)."

Lily Seabolt, a WU media communications major, said she liked being able to talk openly in class while still feeling anonymous.

Seabolt took Religion and Science Fiction online while studying abroad in Vienna and, while she liked many aspects of the class, she cited the lack of personal connections as a definite disadvantage.

"I sometimes felt like my class was a chore, and I don't want my education to be a chore," Seabolt said.

Seabolt added that unlike in traditional classrooms, she made no friendships from her online class.

WU started online classes 10 years ago, with three MBA and three MAT programs and about 60 students enrolled, according to Dan Viele, the associate vice president and director of the online learning center.

WU started the fall semester with 317 sections of fully online courses and more than 4,400 students enrolled worldwide, Viele said.

WU offers three master's programs in both the School of Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences, eight programs in the School of Business and Technology and a Master of Arts in Teaching. Students can also complete several certificate programs online.

Last year, WU had students, either on campus or online, from 48 states with Idaho and Vermont being the exceptions. WU also had students attending from 19 countries.

Employers, who may have been hesitant about online classes and degrees at first, are starting to accept that online curriculum is now an average part of a student's college experience. At WU, though, the online classes appear the same on the transcript as regular classes.

"I think they're grappling with it and accepting that online classes will be a part of the learning process," Viele said.

The SRI International report also concluded that "elements such as video or online quizzes do not appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes," and that having online quizzes doesn't appear to be more valuable than assigning homework to online learners.

"We try to make (online classes) as valuable as the classroom," Umbaugh said.

Umbaugh added that he enjoys teaching online classes as class can be taking place while he is not there.

"Like students, I appreciate being able to come to class in my pajamas," Umbaugh said.

Despite the lack of personal communication some students crave, it appears that online education is here to stay. For the last three years, WU has averaged around 32 percent growth in online courses each year.

"We've gained a solid reputation," Viele said. "It looks like we're going to continue to grow and provide students with access to programs."

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