Is It Worth the Cost of Advanced Education This Year?

Jules

Jules

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For so many universities/colleges this fall, it’s being done online. Considering the high cost of tuition, is it worth it?

Between us, we have two grandkids paying these fees for less than the usual. My GD is going on to her third year. She moved home to be safe in the spring. She wasn’t happy with the learning experience. She missed the student/teacher interaction. There’s the fear of not going back if she quits now. Also, she’s obligated with a lease agreement with four other students.

DH’s GD is starting her first year. A big part of post secondary education is becoming an adult away from family.

Both are hard workers and will do well enough. Is it good enough?
 

I saw a new college student on the news... and he said that they were "losing out" on the college experience because the colleges were limiting the number of people in party groups.... hello? The college experience should not be a party experience. THAT would be a waste of money. In reply to your concerns, all students who are having to go remote are losing out. My grandson (age 9) told me today that he is going to have to zoom class for 5-6 hours a day. Sounds educational and enlightening without social interaction. Mostly, it is a lose/lose situation and 2020 will be a year when people look back and say it was "the best of time and the worst of times."
 
I hope the colleges are giving the on line students the same kinds of descriptive information about the online classes as they would for in person classes, in terms of content and requirements. My feeling is that if they can afford it, & have a living situation where they can concentrate on their studies, I’d say go for it. When the economy recovers (hoping that will happen eventually!),having continued with classes may give them an employment edge over those who’re further behind.
 

The online thing seemed weird to me at first, but after I thought about it, I guess for older students for most things it really doesn't make a real difference whether you are in a room listening to the lecturer in person or remotely, as long as you get the same info, etc, and have the opportunity to ask questions if necessary. For most of my classes all I had to do in the actual class was to sit there and pay attention and take notes and I could have done that at home. Well, not at that time, of course, because the technology to do that wasn't there.

I bet the cheating on tests would go up, because all you'd need would be another computer where you could look up answers out of camera range or just look at your notes.
 
Nothing about online learning can equal the excellence of in person student/teacher interactions. And I'm not a college prof.
 
IMO if you can get an advanced education from a reputable school it is worth it as long as you don't have to go deeply into debt to achieve it.

I'm not concerned about the quality of online education from reputable schools but I believe that during these times many scammers will be offering degrees along with a free laptop, financing, etc... that will be virtually worthless in the workplace.
 
chic said:
Nothing about online learning can equal the excellence of in person student/teacher interactions. And I'm not a college prof.
Click to expand...
I totally agree. My original desire in life was to be an engineer, so I had to take some pretty high level math. I can’t imagine trying to keep up with what the professor was teaching my class in trig, calculus and analytical geometry.

Do the students using online or virtual teaching have the opportunity to ask questions?
 
I agree that nothing’s can replace the human interactions of traditional education, but with that much less available if at all, should still try to keep on growing in whatever way available.
 
There have been online universities providing college education for years. I think they've worked out most of the kinks for online learning in those environments because they seem to be reasonably popular for people who want degrees but can't afford to attend standard classes. Now the big universities need to take lessons from the online colleges to get things to work well.

Certain classes require in person classes or labs, but a large portion of the classes I took while in university could have been taught online.

I do agree that students are missing out on a lot of the social interaction that comes with attending college. It's not just parties, one interacts with one's peers within the department one is majoring in and with people from other disciplines in general ed classes or within the dorms or other living arrangements. There is an exchange of ideas and learning about how to get along with people you didn't attend high school with or who are from different cultures and/or countries.

So I wouldn't recommend paying for a high end college or university until in person classes are safe and available again.
 

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