Very good question. When I took my MBA it was completely online. The university had a conventional ‘ground’ school but had not yet developed its curriculum to support a ‘mix’ of ground and online courses in their program.

As noted, accessibility dramatically improves the ability for mobile and/or remote students to even attend school. But in giving up the bricks ‘n mortar, you also give up things like commute time, parking space and fees, and all the detrimental aspects of ‘going’ to school.

What I did miss was the ability to physically interact with an instructor and students. I would have liked to do perhaps 1/8 to 1/4 of my courses in a conventional setting. As a mature adult taking a graduate degree, it wasn’t too big a deal. But I would imagine for young students just getting started, it may be a challenge. For instance, professors/instructors spend a fair amount of energy at the start of each year impressing upon their new charges what is expected of them (e.g. timeliness, regular attendance, quality of work, etc.).

From a text-book perspective, I don’t think you lose much in an online course. But you do lose out on more ‘real world’ items, such as physical and social interaction, as well as spontaneous ‘tangent’ discussions.

There is one last aspect that bears mentioning. Online courses work very well for -certain- types of education. Accounting, finance, philosphical, managerial, etc. But for things that require hands-on interaction, like chemistry, physicals, medical, or similar, I really think physical presence is required. Perhaps in 25 years you’ll go to a regional ‘chemistry lab’ for specific courses, but today those don’t exist.

Cheers

Appreciate your comment. We share some of the same viewpoints. Learning is a lifelong activity; there’s rarely a day there isn’t something new I’ve learned. And, yes, online education is likely to play a role in my childrens’ education where it didn’t even exist for us.

Cheers