Online universities offer students an opportunity to complete a university degree program while they work full time. Many of online university degrees are accredited; many of them are offered by traditional universities such as University of Massachusetts schools, so they are as marketable as traditional university degrees (i.e., university degrees that student obtain while they attend physical classrooms) when university graduates seek employment opportunities. However, there are certain things that you cannot learn in any online university; in specific, you cannot really learn perspectives that many different people have in any online university. Traditional university's campus is a very diversified place; the campus is diversified ethnically, culturally and economically. University campus is 'diversified ethnically'; this is self-explanatory. There are African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, Whites and foreign students. 'Culturally diversified' means that fellow students go pursue many different careers after they graduate. 'Economically diversified' is also self-explanatory; some are born rich while others work a couple of different jobs to pay tuition. Some have parents who make millions of dollars while others might not even have a single parent who has a descent job.
Ethnical boundaries in US are becoming weaker slowly; however, ethnical boundaries are still rather visible in US. For example, you can clearly recognize African American community in Los Angeles. You can clearly recognize Chinatown in San Francisco. You can also recognize that a part of New York has increasing Korean population. So, chances are you grow up inside an ethnical boundary up until you finish school. Though you can identify that some students stay with those of the same ethnical groups in a typical university campus, boundaries are blur.
If you attend one of major universities that offer dozens of degree programs, you get to meet those who study different subjects such as engineering, literature, chemistry, political science, mathematics and business. You can certainly learn about all these subjects by reading books and watching online lectures, but talking with them and hearing their perspectives is a totally different experience. This is actually a rare opportunity. Once you start working, you tend to spend most of your time with those who work in your field. If you are a software engineer, you tend to spend a lot of time with other software engineers. If you are a lawyer, you tend to spend a lot of time with other lawyers. You tend to hear only one set of perspectives once you start working.
Lastly, whether you'd like to believe or not, there are classes in the society; more specifically, there are classes divided by income. It's a sad reality, but it is a reality. It is unlikely that you have a friend who works as a janitor once you become a hedge fund manager and start making half a million dollars a year. It is also unlikely that you have a fortune 500 CEO friend if you decide to open up a video store and become your own boss (and not own any other store). However, you and your friends are more or less equal in university. For example, even if your friend's father is Microsoft's executive and you work two jobs to pay tuition, your friend and you get same assignments; it is highly unlikely that your friend gets a higher score simply because his father makes millions of dollars a year. Your other friend might drive Mercedes and you might just ride a bicycle. There is no reason why you cannot get straight As while your friend gets B- average. Meeting people in different classes is another way to get different perspectives, and going to a traditional university gives you this unique opportunity.
Some may argue that online campus does not discriminate students, and thus, you can interact with different people. This is true to a certain extent, but meeting people face-to-face is totally different from meeting people online. Also what you can learn from people online is totally different from what you can learn from people whom you meet face-to-face. I actually host a website about online education, and I am certainly not devaluing online education, online university or online university degree. However, getting a university degree is a big investment in terms of time and money. It can also make a huge difference in your life, so it should not be taken lightly. You should make a well-informed decision. The point of this article is to inform you of one of major advantages of getting a university degree at a traditional university. I highly recommend that you get as much information as you can and make an informed decision whether you decide to study online, you decide to attend a traditional university or else.
About Author: J. Watanabe is the owner of Open Online Education Network. OOEN also hosts a discussion forum for learners to discuss learning opportunities including college, university and vocational education.
No comments:
Post a Comment