By Aidan Marone
College of Southern Nevada students like online classes and plan to continue taking them.
According to Internal Research at CSN, fall 2022 had 57% of the student population fully online with distance learning. The majority are choosing Canvas courses instead of showing up on campus. Though, 43% still prefer on-campus classes.
Karson Hood, a CSN freshman, took online classes his senior year of high school so he is not new to this. “I love online classes more than in-person classes because it’s more organized and you can plan ahead versus in-person classes (where) you have to wait for the teacher to tell you what’s on the agenda.” He added that online classes help him learn better because he can work at his own pace and doesn’t feel rushed as opposed to the in-person classes.
Best Colleges 2022 Online Education Trends Report writes that 70% of students said online education is better or equal to on-campus education. Additionally, 95% of online program graduates said they would recommend online education to others.
“I prefer online classes because I feel like there are less distractions,” says Brandon Tyler, a student at CSN. Tyler has all online classes and has been in college for over two years.
Kaan Goksu is a 20-year-old sophomore at CSN. This is his first year taking online classes. “I must say I enjoy them way more than in-person classes. The best part about online classes for me has to be the fact that I can attend them from anywhere and this really frees up my schedule.”
Goksu says, “Simply being able to keep track of my assignments in Canvas and having the lectures recorded helps me out a ton and that really reflects on my grades. I am also able to focus on my in-person classes and other responsibilities. I will also be looking to enroll in online classes next semester.”
There are students who don’t prefer to take online courses. The CSN IR report notes that students 35 and older tended to sign up for on-campus courses.
According to National University, some of the cons of online classes — which may affect that demographic — would include: high technical requirements, greater need for self-motivation, possible distractions at home, less cooperation and interaction with peers.
CSN continues to offer both modalities. It will be interesting to follow statistics in the years ahead to see where the demand is.