It’s the middle of the quarter, and already time to start thinking about what classes to take next. With so many options available between going on campus, taking hybrid courses, or a class completely online, this is a situation all students have faced at some point. However, weighing the different pros and cons can help students find the perfect class to succeed in. 

With the world moving more towards technology, education has to move along with it. This provides a new challenge with finding a balance between face-to-face and the online world within the school system.

At Pierce College Fort Steilacoom’s campus, the number of students taking online classes has been growing each year. According to Pierce’s Tableau dashboard, the number of students enrolled in online courses has increased by 20 percent over a 10 year period.

As the popularity of online classes increases, on-campus course enrollment is slowly decreasing. In the past 10 years, the number of students enrolled in face-to-face classes has gone down 10 percent. This fluctuation has caught the attention of some staff members at Pierce.

Fred Metzger, a communications and film professor at Pierce College, notices that whenever an online class is offered, it fills up quickly. “It becomes a safe move, and strong evidence that this is where the need is,” he said. “People that are in charge of those decisions can easily think we need more online classes.” 

Each quarter, choosing between online and in-class courses are a choice that faculty have to make as well. Joyce Pace, a history professor at Pierce College said that teaching an online class can be more of a workload on staff members. This is a result of trying to recreate classroom experiences in an online environment, which can be hard to keep up with, she added.

Selecting the right class has much to do with the individual’s learning style, however. Marilyn Gay, a Pierce College student, mentioned how on-campus classes are important to her because of the teacher and peer interactions. “I like the interaction with the instructor and the other peers, and you don’t get that with online classes.”

E-learning can provide an exceptional opportunity for many people. As Pace, said, “I knew a military student who ended up finishing some online course work while he was deployed in the middle east, and another who was going to school online while on a ship in the Persian Gulf.” 

Cases like these show the benefit of online courses. However, could there be too much of a push toward online in this day and age? Metzger says that his public speaking class almost didn’t happen this quarter. 

Metzger mentioned how there is no substitute for the energy, nerves, and emotion that are in the room during a public speaking course. “We don’t leave people left behind, we bring them on board and maybe have transitional classes, or understand some things you just don’t want to teach online.” 

Although there are many positives of online classes’ availability in this digital age, it’s also important to keep enough campus classes available to students.

Naudyia Pichette, a student in her fifth quarter at Pierce College mentioned, “Not everybody has access to a computer and that’s basically your lifeline with an online class. Also, the books tend to be pretty expensive.” 

Pichette said she likes to take electives online, instead of core classes, such as accounting. She adds that usually more help is available from a teacher and fellow students in an on-campus math or science course, that isn’t as needed in an online class such as art appreciation. 

Upon entering college, it can seem overwhelming with all of the different options of what classes to take, but once everybody finds the type of class that works best for them, it can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Metzger had a valuable statement that those on campus should keep in mind when discussing the removal or addition of both forms of courses, “It’s not which is better? It’s why can’t we have both? Why can’t we nurture both? Why can’t we be diverse and be open to all with the diverse community?”