An Online College Education: Its Pros and Cons

The Wall Street Journal agrees with me: it's more than possible to graduate debt free.
Where the WSJ says exactly what I've been saying

But this post isn't another tome about graduating debt free (or with reduced debt). Instead, it's about a typical brick and mortar college education and the phenomenon of an online college education.

Some background. 

Whenever I tell people that I'm using an online program to finish my degree, I use key words. Private school. Accredited. Not a diploma mill. I'm not-so-secretly terrified that people will think I've given up my academic promise for an online institution that doubles as a diploma mill. I "go to" Regent University, a private school in Virginia that has an online program. Same professors, same academic rigor, same books, etc.  When I graduate, my diploma won't indicate that I graduated from an online program, although I'll probably have to explain how I graduated from a school in Virginia while living in California.

I have had a lot of issues with Regent, issues that I believe stem from the fact that it's an online program. I don't think these issues are limited to my school, but rather, are indicative of what a student can expect  while pursuing an online education from a reputable school.

Pros: 
It's portable
I can take my classroom with me to work, to my mom's, or across the country when on vacation.

There's no class time
I can go to class at any time. I've always been a night owl, so being able to "go to class" in the evening, and not at eight am in heavenly. I'm a huge fan. The inner homeschool child in me loves sitting on the couch doing school, and not working about looking attractive or making it on time for class. It suits me.

No commuting or dorm costs:
This is huge. Living in the dorms is a ridiculous waste of money, that comes with a propensity for overeating in the cafeteria. Online students save thousands in dorm fees.
Commuting is really expensive--in time and money. When I lived at home, clocked 35-39 hours a week (and worked more), went to school full time, and commuted to a school 45 minutes away, I spent a lot of money on gas and a lot of time in the car. In fact, I was either driving, in class, or at work from 7 am until 8 pm on school and work days, and I never got a day off. It was either a school and work day, an eight hour work day, or just a school day. I worked a lot of 6 day weeks, so the only school days were a treat. I was 19, and before even homework, familial obligations, or eating,  I was pulling 70 hour plus weeks. And, I had a job that was incredibly stressful emotionally and physically. (I also traveled out of state twice for speaking engagements that year.)

So, needless to say, online classes help with all those extra "costs".

Available work schedule

I love working. I love earning money and knowing that I am doing my part as a capable adult. It's invigorating. It's also the worst feeling to have work a school schedule around a less-than-accommodating job situation, or to have write out a complicated school schedule on a job application. Having school that I can do at any times makes my work life so much easier. I can give my boss completely available hours, changing it only if I want to add another job. I can fit schoolwork into the cracks of my schedule and I like it that way.

I did the calculations, and if I was to go to school (an hour away), I wouldn't be able to work nearly as much, and I would never see my husband. Not to mention, if we had to PCS I would be faced with either transferring at a very late stage in my education or not finishing my degree. Online school works well with my lifestyle.

The cons
A complete lack of teacher interaction.
 I'm a fan of the Socratic method of learning--of discussion and questioning and answering--and as an English major, I was blessed to take many classes in that format. Not so with online education. We are given our assignments for the week, and sometimes a written lecture. No human interaction. The discussion posts are awkward because the requirements are so stringent and heavily graded. (Say 'this and this', have two official sources, no more than blank words, say 'this' to your peers, etc.)

It's lonely for the social learner. I'm a social person. I enjoy lots of personable interaction--in fact, I crave it. I miss the camaraderie of the classroom and the various tics and quirks of professors. It makes academia much more dry and boring.  I find myself far less invested in my classes--both work and interest wise. And the silent competition among classmates is missing. Instead, it's just me, turning in my work, hoping for a decent grade from a faceless professor.

It's harder to understand one another. 

Most grades are achieved by a combination of brains and hard work (everyone has a different balance) and knowledge of the professor's style. Each professor thinks, teaches, and grades differently based on his biases. A student learns these biases in the classroom--through lecture, body language, and anecdotes. This isn't possible for the online student. The online student turns his work into to a faceless, personality-free entity, hoping that his work meets the unknown standard. Likewise, a professor has a harder time learning what makes the student an individual, what his interests are, and if he may be having issues in his personal life. This often results in lower grades, exasperated professors, and grumpy students.

Bureaucracy is more noticeable. 
When schoolwork feels simply like a vending machine of assignments returned for grades, things like tuition costs, random paperwork, and office misunderstanding seem huge. A student doesn't have that loyalty to his school, or love of his classes to help him deal with issues. All he notices are glaring mistakes and high prices for professors, people, and an infrastructure he doesn't even see.

In conclusion, online classes work on the practical level, but are a pain for the lover of learning and human interaction.