Why the disconnect between the public and university presidents?

For starters, online classes cost the university less than classes taken in a building. Without the need for a classroom, there’s no need to pay for the costs associated with a classroom, such as utilities and upkeep.

With public funding for higher education decreasing, universities have to reduce costs, and online classes are one way to do that.

Perhaps the public feels having most courses available online seems more in the wheelhouse of an institution such as the University of Phoenix, rather than a classical education at a four-year public university such as MSU.

That’s not to say online classes have no merit; they are useful in some situations.

The classes are convenient for students who are away from campus, completing internships or studying abroad. Not only do online classes allow students to keep on track in terms of credits, they also offer students the freedom to do classwork within a busy schedule. With the rising costs of higher education, being able to take online classes on their own time in order to graduate on time is a boon to students.

Just as in traditional classes, there are professors who know how to make the material interesting and relevant online and those who don’t. At its best, when professors seek to emulate the classroom relationship by instituting a high level of interactivity between student and professor, online classes work well.
With that said, online classes cannot — and should not — replace classroom learning.

Online classes present too much of a physical disconnect between students and professors to become the norm.
Personal motivation always is a factor in student learning, but it’s much easier for students to ignore or disregard professors if they’re merely a face on a screen.

Subjects such as literature feed off of classroom debate, which makes them difficult to translate to an online setting.
Classes such as mathematics or simple science make the online transition easier because their fact-based nature makes them easier for students to understand without face-to-face assistance.

As technology improves and the way people interact changes further, the divide between traditional courses and online classes likely will lessen.

Until that day, the gap between what professors try to teach students and what students try to learn from professors is best closed in a classroom.