Online courses gain momentum with professionals

Furthering their education is often a challenge for busy business professionals. Many are finding the answer on the Internet.

Online courses are available from several area colleges, including Webster University, Drury University, Southwest Missouri State University, Ozarks Technical Community College and Springfield College.

Each school has seen a dramatic increase in the number of online students.

Toni Miller, vice president and chief financial officer of Bass Pro Shops, took an online MBA-level marketing course at Webster.

"When I initially went online I was pleasantly surprised," Miller said. "The class mixed a broad base of students from varying locations across the country, different job descriptions and levels of expertise. It was a good cross section of students versus those in the physical classroom."

Webster University leads the way with 1,643 students enrolled in online classes this fall. That is up from the 107 students for the first classes in fall 1999.

Webster offers several programs online, including its masters of business administration, a master of arts in teaching, and one in business and organizational security management.

One problem area is that communicating via e-mail changes the classroom dynamics.

"(We) try to alleviate that by setting up times to go online and give live feedback to students," said Laura Ward, director of Webster University.

Flexibility was the reason Jennifer Downer chose to take Internet courses from Springfield College.

"Working a full-time job during the day and taking classes four nights a week took away from my quality of life," Downer said. "Online courses gave me freedom to take time for myself and still complete my educational requirements. Online courses became an even greater benefit when we decided to move to Kansas City. Without them, I would have had to transfer to a college in the Kansas City area. This would have delayed my graduation."

Springfield College started with about 15 courses in January and now has 49 online classes with 66 students enrolled, said John Hamilton, academic dean with Springfield College.

"I think that if you're not offering Internet courses, you're shorting your students," Hamilton said.

Downer said the quality of instruction remains high with online courses.

"I would caution that online courses are very demanding and require a lot of self-motivation," Downer said. "They demand the same time commitment and quality level as on-campus courses."

Samm Carter, online instructor at Ozarks Technical Community College, said that the online classes actually offer the opportunity for more one-on-one contact.

"I think I get more personal contact with each individual student than I do in the classroom," Carter said. "I've taught both ways. Online I hear from every student. In the traditional classroom, four or five blend into the woodwork and never speak. For the online students, I think I have a better sense of what the class needs."

OTC started its online program in spring 2001 with three courses, but now has 18 classes and about 250 students, Carter said.

SMSU has 23 courses scheduled for this fall with 375 to 400 students en-rolled, said Melissa Hart, coordinator for SMSU Online. She said SMSU has seen a "75 percent increase from last fall to this fall in enrollments."

SMS started its program in spring 1998 with about 10 students, Hart added.

"I feel like I could be adding sections of courses and fill them up immediately," Hart said. "There's a huge demand. We have students online from all over the country and outside the United States."

Hart said when SMSU started its online program, one of the issues it dealt with was that the school didn't want to be a "degree mill."

She said the school worked to make sure its online courses and program offerings were as academically rigorous as they would be in a campus classroom.

When it comes to questions, online students expect timely feedback from e-mails, she added.

"Typically undergraduate students do homework between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.," Hart said. "They expect answers to their e-mails fast, even if it is 1 a.m. We tell faculty to set a time when they answer e-mails. We've had instructors who have had 80 e-mails in the morning from a class of 15 students."

Gary Rader, director for Drury University's online programs, said its online program began in spring 1999, with three classes and 74 students.

He expects to have more than 600 students in 36 courses this fall.

Rader said the rapid increase "re-flects the im-portance of on-line education for 21st-century students who have busy schedules, family and career to balance at the same time as getting a degree." Courses are designed for the evening student population, Rader said.