Elliot Lake
Managing Editor/ Game Reporter

Online classes have been a staple of modern universities for a while now. Many students take advantage of this alternative form of learning. But are students benefitting from these classes the same way they would face-to-face lectures?

“It all comes down to the student,” Thomas Haffey, instructor of Marketing and Management said. “It’s all an individual thing. It just works better for some students than others.”

Students sometimes face more challenges with online classes, additional fees being just one of them. The biggest challenge for most is accountability. For many others, the biggest challenge is simply remembering the classes exist.

“I was worried I wouldn’t take the classes very seriously,” Summer Arnold, a senior in Psychology, said. “It’s so easy to put in minimal effort in online classes, and that’s a lot of the reason I didn’t want any.”

Students are concerned about the expanding workloads. Most students have at least 12 credit hours and work some form of job. Arnold is no different, and she felt how difficult it can be to manage all the aspects of college life.

“With multiple other classes and a job, online classes are easy to forget about,” Arnold said. “The work piles up quickly, and I’m already burnt out from my job and other classes as well. They’re hard to keep up with.”

Online classes can be hard to remember and focus on. However, they can also be a benefit to those who don’t wish to or cannot spend time in a physical classroom.

These classes help involve those who otherwise wouldn’t be. Out-of-state students who cannot leave home can take advantage of this, as well as disabled students or students who don’t work well in a face-to-face lecture.

“Online classes are a nice alternative for students who can’t commute,” said Desiree Savage, a W student who hasn’t yet declared a major. “It also works better for students like me who have physical disabilities. It’s really nice to have the option to take the classes online.”