The anywhere classroom

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

Online education for college students has a lot going for it. Its more flexible hours are a godsend for single parents and for students holding down a job.

Also making it attractive are the savings in time and money from not having to commute and compete for scarce parking.

The growing popularity of online education was documented in a story in Saturday’s Las Vegas Sun by reporter Charlotte Hsu, who interviewed students, officials and faculty at local state schools.

One in five students at UNLV, one in four at the College of Southern Nevada and one in two at Nevada State College are taking at least one class on the Web.

We are generally supportive of this trend. More working people now have a better shot at getting degrees, which increases their chances of getting ahead. Higher education is more available to rural residents and military members stationed overseas. Even traditional students are afforded more convenience.

Most important, the local state-school faculty members interviewed by Hsu said their online courses are equally as rigorous as their campus-based courses.

Still, there are valid criticisms. Online students, for example, miss out on classroom discussions that get them to think while responding to instant feedback from teachers and fellow students.

Such live interaction can be invaluable in building confidence and assertiveness, qualities that are attributes in the workplace.

But we do not see such criticism as a showstopper. It’s a changing world and education must change with it. For a growing number of students, taking four or even two years off from life, perhaps working summers, while getting an education is no longer possible.

Nevertheless, Hsu reported, employers overwhelmingly regard degrees reflecting traditional classroom education as superior. But we believe the near future will bring a change, owing to today’s online students at respected colleges.

As these students and those following them go on to become successful in their careers, employers will see their college degree as a college degree, whether they drove to class or logged on.