Photo by Carmen Cheng | Washtenaw Voice
by Charlotte Young Bowens
Staff Writer
A minimum of 6 million students are enrolled in at least one distance learning course according to the 2017 Distance Education Enrollment Report. Student preference for online courses has grown at a rapid rate over the last decade and for many people the convenience has allowed them to pursue their educational goals.
Online learning is on the rise, but the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found the overall college enrollment has declined for the sixth straight year. What’s this all about?
There’s a dip in the birth rate, reducing the numbers of 18- to 24-year olds entering college and this is most apparent in the Midwest and Northeast. Michigan is one of the states experiencing the decline because people are having fewer kids and individuals are leaving the state in search of better jobs.
Coinciding with this decline is an increase in people over 24 years old returning to the workforce due to improvements in the economy. That drags down enrollment rates at community colleges and private, for-profit universities with mid-career educational opportunities.
WCC has weathered these changes. In fact, WCC is one of the only colleges in Michigan that continues to show an increase in enrollment. Kimberly Hurns, vice president of instruction, points to a combination of reasons for that.
Distance learning is one of the contributing factors.
“The increase in online offerings has helped WCC not experience a decline in enrollment,” she said. “Some of it is net new students, students that specifically came here because we had online courses, but some of the growth is from students who have gone back to work because of the economy… distance learning fits into their working schedule,” said Hurns.
“A lot of students who prefer online classes, they like to shop around, they jump around to various colleges,” said Hurns. Students want to get their course work completed as quickly as possible and will attend more than one institution.
The competition for students is stiff in Michigan. WCC’s 2017 fall student profile confirmed the increase in out-of-district students using distance learning. WCC has been able to compete with other community colleges and with four-year institutions.
It has become more cost effective for families to pay for general education credits at the community college level. Online courses provide students with scheduling flexibility and then they can transfer those credits to a four-year university.
More and more high schoolers are dually enrolled and use the distance learning to supplement their pre-college requisites and graduation requirements. Ypsilanti Community High School, Michigan Islamic Academy, Manchester High School, Dexter High School and Clonlara (home school) have the highest numbers of students dually enrolled at WCC.
“Online courses are great for getting information but horrible for gaining experience in the field,” said Anthony Sugent, 25, cyber security major verified on Twitter.
It’s true, not all academic subjects are easily transformed into online courses. The fastest growing subject areas for online enrollment at WCC are accounting, business office systems, computer science and nursing.
For students hesitant about online course, Hurns said that self-discipline is important. Of course, that’s true for online and for other courses. “I recommend that students try out a course in the spring/summer,” Hurns said. “Have a plan of attack and remember the time commitment to an online course is the same as face-to-face.”
Online technologies like virtual reality and simulations used within course curriculum will contribute to more offerings. More over, with the rise in tech specific careers, distance learning can train the next generation of workers and fill existing employment gaps.
“We believe online offerings have helped curb the decline in enrollment but it’s a combination of things and the more students are successful at WCC, the more we will see continued growth at the college,” said Hurns.
