Residential students of Houghton can now take up to two online classes per semester (not including summer courses), according to Marlene Collins-Blair, Associate Dean of Distance Education. She explained that “up to 49% of a main campus degree can be earned online—a maximum of around 60 credits,” due to New York State regulations.
She continued, “Online education is one of the largest and fastest growing segments of higher education. Last year, there were approximately 3.5 million students in the United States working toward their degree online. The projection is that this number will increase to 5 million by 2020.” The draw to online courses lies in the fact that they are “flexible, convenient, and often cheaper than face-to-face courses,” she said. Online courses also expedite the graduation process, with summer courses available, according to Collins-Blair.
Resultantly, online courses have reached a new popularity with younger students. As Collins-Blair explained, online courses were originally popular with non-traditional, adult-aged students; recent research, however, has proven that “the mean age of undergraduate online students decreased from 34 years old in 2012 to 29 in 2016. The mean age of graduate online students decreased from 35 years old in 2012 to 33 in 2016.”
For those hesitant to believe that online courses are not as credible or high-quality, Collins-Blair ensures students that “Houghton College students receive the same quality of instruction regardless of the delivery format, and that the learning outcomes for online courses remain consistent with those of the on-campus counterparts, if they exist.” According to the Houghton College website, online students can attain Bachelors’s degrees in science or business administration. Programs include human resource management, integrated marketing and communication, management, leadership development, or psychology. Students may also attain an Associate’s Degree in Arts.
Director of Admission, Ryan Spear, weighed in and stated, “With every opportunity comes caution. There is something, dare I say ‘magical’ about learning in the classroom setting. Students should consider the ‘opportunity cost’ of swapping an online course for something they could take residentially and consider the pros/cons of what they want out of their educational experience.” Spear added that, despite the traditional classroom setting, students have a great opportunity to continue their “post-college learning” process, thanks to online classes.