Online courses are advertised on television and radio and are
popular among anyone from working professionals to students who
cannot wake up and make it to class on time.
Though this medium of learning sometimes requires more
motivation and discipline than a traditional course, their
convenience has made them a new trend in education.
UCLA Extension has been offering these courses since 1996 but a
relatively small number of UCLA undergraduate students have chosen
to take them.
These courses can go on anywhere between six and 12 weeks, and
communication is often done through reading course material via the
Internet and posting written responses.
Extension courses are often aimed at continuing students who
want to update or refresh their skills, but a number of courses are
also available to undergraduates for credit.
As long as courses meet the guidelines and their academic
content is appropriate, no special rules apply to online courses,
said Margaret Matzinger-Tchakerian, assistant director of academic
counseling for the UCLA College.
Regarding credits and other administrative matters, UCLA does
not differentiate between online courses and any other courses
taken at an outside institute.
Matzinger-Tchakerian said it is important for students to know
that concurrent enrollment is not allowed, meaning that students
cannot be enrolled in classes at UCLA and outside at the same time
if they want to receive credit for them.
She added that in her experience interacting with students who
take the online courses, the classes are mostly used by UCLA
students in cases where the student is one course shy of
graduation.
She believes, though these courses are convenient for students,
there is a certain value in taking a class in person and online
classes are not a substitute for direct interaction with the
instructor.
Professor Daniel Johnson, who teaches an online history course
through UCLA Extension, said at times there is potential for more
interaction in an online course but the interaction is not through
immediate conversation.
Johnson, who also teaches regular classes at other universities,
compared the dynamics of online versus traditional courses and said
online courses have limitations and tend to be impersonal for
undergraduate students.
He explained that his class has 25 students and students are
required to post responses on a regular basis.
“The full effect (of the course) depends on the
students,” he said.
He added that low enrollment is important for the effectiveness
of the courses and that students can get a very high quality of
education if there is a lot of interaction between student and
instructor and also among students.
The courses are not offered in a self-paced format and are
structured in a way that the instructor releases lectures on weekly
basis and students do not have access to the whole class.
Kathleen McGuire, director of distance learning for UCLA
Extension, said motivation and discipline are essential qualities
in students participating in this program since this is not a
quicker alternative to traditional classes.
She said it is crucial for students to respond to course
material and postings can be very effective since it is as if
everyone can talk at once and everyone can hear them.
“If you do not write a response, you are not there,”
she added.
It is this particular nature of the courses that makes them
different than regular lectures.
These classes work better for advanced students who read and
write well, Johnson said.
He believes that online courses are very attractive to
administrators because of their cost-effectiveness, especially
during the limited budget situation.
“Some classes don’t have (enrollment) capacities and
no physical space is required,” he added, saying there is no
to expand facilities to accommodate more students in a online
environment.