In the recent times, fully online degree programs has seen a rising trend with many universities, sometime with lower costs than traditional on-campus programs. This essay will elaborate on the possible advantages and disadvantages, and closed with my personal view on this matter.
There are many obvious benefits of this change, with the most apparent being accessibility. People who cannot afford an on-campus program might be able to afford a cheaper, fully online program. And since it doesn’t obligate the students to actually have to go to the university itself, students who wants to pursue higher education but limited by location can study without having to pay a sum of money just to be able to access learning. For example, a student living on the outskirts of Yogyakarta could still study without having to go to the urban area. Despite these clear advantages, however, there are also quite a few drawbacks that comes with a full online course.
The greatest drawback is the limitation of the materials taught. Sometimes, a few learning material must be teached in person, rather than through a screen. Such as lab practicals. A student cannot do lab practicals without the necessary equipment and surveilance of instructors. Additionally, even if the student owns the equipment, it might not satisfy the standards.
In my view, while online teaching does have better accessibility, it is limited by various factors which can only be overcome with offline learning. Therefore, a better system to propose would be a mix of the two, a type of hybrid program.