Many colleges offer online courses and degrees, but are they for you? If you’re considering going to college online because you think it’ll be cheaper, you aren’t alone. There’s a common belief that taking these online college courses instead of physically attending college will save you money. That isn’t really the case, though. In fact, in many cases it can cost even more.
Undergraduate programs online where you’d be paying in-state tuition cost more than if you were to attend on campus. That is, according to a U.S. News analysis that examined the costs of 300 different programs. If you were to attend on campus, you’d be looking at an average of $243 per credit. But if you took the same courses online, it would run you about $277 per credit.
On the other hand, if you are looking at attending a college where you’d be paying out-of-state tuition, then choosing online courses may be cheaper. The same goes for private colleges.
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Learning House conducted a joint study in 2013 on online learning. In this study, they discovered that more than a quarter of the programs offered by AASCU members charged more for online courses. The larger or more advance the college is, the more likely they’ll charge more than residential, on-campus programs.
There are also often technology fees. When you attend college on campus, you’re more likely to receive perks like a free laptop to use. Of course, you normally won’t gain official ownership of the laptop until you graduate or complete the program. You can think of it as an incentive by the institute to increase retention rates. While it isn’t as common, there are some online schools that offer laptops.
Why Do So Many Online Courses Charge More?
Developing and implementing a quality online program isn’t cheap. To get the program up and running requires a substantial investment. On top of that, not all professors and faculty are necessarily on-par with today’s technology. So schools often have to spend significant amounts of money to train them, and this isn’t a one-time investment. It’s ongoing.
Convenience Not Necessarily a Good Thing
According to study that the Community College Research Center released, students attending community college who took online courses early on were more likely to drop out than those who chose a traditional, on-campus route. Students who took the highest number of online course were least likely to transfer to a 4-year program or to even graduate. Those attending on-campus programs had a 90 percent chance of completing them, compared to only 82 percent chance of those who chose the online version. The study followed over 50,000 students in Washington State for five years.
While an online course provides flexibility and convenience, it also requires students to be much more proactive and good at time management. Many times, that just isn’t the case.
