Pros and Cons of Online Education

Online education can be a great way to earn college credits on your own schedule, but it's not for everyone. Explore some of the pros and cons of studying online to decide if a virtual learning environment is right for you.

The Plus Side

Cost and convenience are just a few of the major 'pros' for studying online.

Scheduling

Online education is very popular among students with jobs and families. While some courses include synchronous components such as Skype conferences with instructors, most allow students to complete coursework on their own schedules.

Location

You can take an online course anywhere you have a computer and an Internet connection. This perk is especially important for individuals living in remote or rural areas who can't relocate and don't want to commute hours to school. But it's also useful for parents who need to be able to study at home with young children or any student who prefers to work in the comfort of their own home or local coffee shop.

Pacing

Do you find yourself struggling to keep up with difficult or fast-paced courses? Many online programs will allow you to either finish your coursework entirely at your own pace or give you additional time above and beyond the average school term.

Savings

Tuition for online courses is often a little bit lower than traditional classroom courses because the overhead cost is lower for the teaching institution. Online students may also save money on activity fees and similar costs paid by on-campus students.

There are also many 'hidden' savings associated with studying online. Most students save money on gas, parking or bus passes when they don't commute. Many students are also able to keep housing and food costs down when they're not tied to the location of a school or the schedule of a traditional student.

Finally, many online courses give students access to e-textbooks or other digital materials that may cost less than traditional textbooks.

The Minus Side

Online education may be sounding pretty good right about now, but it's important to remember that there can be significant drawbacks for some students.

Limited Instructor Interaction

Some online programs give you the opportunity to use instant messenger or Skype to chat in real-time with your professors. But these conversations have to be scheduled and are usually far and few between compared to the daily face to face interactions you'll have in a traditional classroom.

If you're a student who prefers large, anonymous lecture courses anyway, then this may not matter much to you. But if you're the kind of student who prefers smaller conferences and likes to ask a lot of questions, then you may find yourself struggling without these opportunities.

And there's one final drawback to not having frequent interactions with professors: You miss out on developing mentorship relationships that can result in invaluable guidance and recommendation letters down the road.

Limited Social Interaction

Since you're not studying in a traditional classroom, you'll also miss having face time with other students. This can deprive you of important networking opportunities for your future career, as well as basic social interaction. If you're hoping to make new friends - or find future business partners - in school, consider taking at least a couple of your courses on campus.

Tech-Savvy Required

Most online programs deliberately keep their tech specs simple: A word processing program, a PDF reader and a computer and Internet connection fast enough for online learning tools.

But these basic requirements hide the fact that most online education programs require students to navigate potentially complex virtual learning environments such as Blackboard or Moodle. For savvy computer users, this is no problem. But if you often find yourself struggling with the digital age, this can present a significant frustration and impediment to completing your coursework.