There are so many reasons why online classes are the future. The most persuasive reason that online classes are the future is that American college grduates who leave university with tens of thousands of dollars in college loan debt simply can not compete with Europeans, whose university educations are paid by the government or with Indian or even African graduate who has paid far far less.
Wage competition has fully penetrated the middle class employment market. Even if superior American education better prepares a graduate for a career, it does not matter if the student is priced out of available entry level positions.
Given the political realities now present in the United States it is unlikely that increased government funding will solve this problem. To the contrary, future funding reductions are likely. Therefore the most promising solution for reducing student debt is to reduce costs.
Online classes provide numerous potential cost savings. It is unlikely that any of the cost saving will be fully realized immediately but they to provide hope for genuine cost savings.
The first source of cost savings is the cost classrooms. Especially for city campuses the cost of expanding the campus can be high and often face stiff resistance to neighbors of the educational institution. Online classes reduce the number of class rooms needed. Hopefully in many educational institutions this will slow if not cease the need to expand the foot print of the campus.
Further if fewer teachers, students and staff are coming to the school it should reduce traffic concerns, This has the potential to make needed expansion easier, quicker and cheaper.
Many current academic buildings were built or at least designed in the sixties when fuel prices were dramatically lower. They are often incredibly expensive to heat, cool and light. If online courses allowed the most inefficient buildings to be closed during the summer, for example, substantial savings could be realized.
Unfortunately crime is substantially higher at educational campuses than in other locations. This is due the large number of students who are in the prime of their criminal lives, and to crime caused by narcotic prohibition and high drinking age. Ability to only open the most easily patrolled areas of campus for night classes could significantly reduce security expenditures.
Finally since most online class have one lecture that is used for all instances of the class and only a reasonably expanded discussion period. It is possible that teachers will be able to teach more classes, perhaps at something like a 3 to 2 ratio.
These savings opportunities are only opportunities. Closing inefficient buildings during certain hours and focusing security patrols on a reduced portion of a campus are complex endeavors, which occur only with the cooperation of many different stakeholders.
Further budget cuts and furloughs have seriously hurt moral amongst faculty and staff at Californian institutions. These stakeholders may have little interest in volunteering for such changes and certainly have no reason to trust that labour concessions made in good faith will be honored during the next fiscal crisis.
Online courses provide many opportunities whose fruits will be difficult to
harvest. But we are at a point where we have no choice but try.
Picture taken 20 August 2009
