1

Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo

Anya Leticia Fontanillas Lantigua

University Subjects Shouldn’t be Taught Online

German Danilo Bobadilla Guzmán

Instructor

Santo Domingo

July 15, 2020

 2

Abstract

Online classes are taking over today’s education, and Universities are not an exception. This

method has provided some facilities, plus difficulties for college student’s learning and

development across the years. This paper’s purpose is motivated by the lack of attention this topic

has received so that Universities can listen to the student’s voices, as well these ones can feel

understood, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. The harmful effects online education

keeps causing to students and studies that confirm them are easy to spot throughout the essay,

leading to the conclusion of why subjects shouldn’t be taught this way in college.
 3

Along with technology development and its access to society, Universities have applied online

classes to their curriculum. This teaching method has been used for years, causing students to

adjust to it to get their degrees properly. Almost all college students right now are experiencing

online classes more than ever seen before, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subjects taught

this way has its bright side, like flexibility, lower costs, and location independence, but it also has

a dark side. Society has disguised this side of online education so long, until now. Are these barely

noticed cons convincing enough to question about online classes' effectiveness?

We're going through a hard year, and thanks to this, Universities made significant changes in

higher education. Bharat Anand, Vice Provost for Advances in Learning (VPL) at Harvard

University (ranked globally as #1, which counts with more than 20,000 students), said that, across

this university, around 3,000 instructors and teachers joined in remote teaching due to COVID-19

pandemic (Herpich, 2020). Ana Mari Cauce, the president of the University of Washington (the

most significant public university on the U.S. considered the most innovative in 2019), announced

on March 6 that its classes were going to be online for their 50,000 students, becoming the first

significant American College to do so (Dennon, 2020) (Baker, Hartocollis, & Weise, 2020).

Moving to online courses seemed like the only and fastest way to prevent the spread of the virus

among students, but was it the right decision for the student's learning?

Several education-related institutions have investigated how students develop in online classes. A

study from The National Survey of Student Engagement (2008) reported that online learners had

a more in-depth focus on learning and had better use of thinking skills than those with a classroom-

based education (p. 16). Despite this, two studies by the Columbia University published in July

2011 and April 2013 indicated that college students are less likely to complete or perform well on

online classes, causing 17% of them to drop out compared to only 10% when it comes to traditional
 4

ones (Kokemuller, n.d.; Lewis, n.d.). Taking that into consideration, we assume there is an issue

that goes further than just logging in a platform and fulfilling tasks which effects doesn't have

enough importance as they should.

Online education's adverse effects are more (and harmful) than society believes. The most common

adverse effects of online learning are higher requiring time, lack of face-to-face interaction, more

work than a student can handle, procrastination gets more natural, and intense requirement of self-

discipline (Montgomery College, n.d.; Brooks, 2019). In a survey by Active Minds Inc., a

nonprofit organization that supports student's mental health, 80% of the 2,086 college students said

the pandemic affected their mental health negatively, and one in every five said that their mental

health got worse in a significant way (Ao, 2020). These results are alarming, showing how college

life turned from stressful to a living nightmare for many of them.

In conclusion, online education has its ups and downs that have been recognized better during the

experience facing this global crisis caused by COVID-19. Sadly, feelings such as lack of

motivation, frustration, tiredness, anxiety, loneliness, and even depression traits have been the day-

to-day for many college students around the world while trying to cope with online classes and its

harmful effects. The only thing that prevents them from giving up is the never-ending desire of the

day when they can finally go back to what they have missed the most: on-campus college life.

Personally, as a college student myself going through the same issues, I would always prefer face-

to-face classes no matter what, because I can learn from my teacher and peers' perspectives and

ideas that will lead me to a better understanding of the world around me.
 5

Works Cited

Ao, B. (2020). College students experience mental health decline from COVID-19 effects, survey

finds. Here’s how to get help. Obtenido de The Philadelphia Inquirer:

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid19-coronavirus-college-students-

mental-health-20200514.html

Baker, M., Hartocollis, A., & Weise, K. (2020). First U.S. Colleges Close Classrooms as Virus

Spreads. More Could Follow. Retrieved from New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/coronavirus-college-campus-closings.html

Brooks, A. (2019). Breaking Down the Pros and Cons of Online Classes. Retrieved from

Rasmussen College: https://www.rasmussen.edu/student-experience/college-life/pros-

and-cons-online-classes/

Dennon, A. (2020). Coronavirus Impacts on Students and Online Learning. Retrieved from Best

Colleges: https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/coronavirus-impacts-on-students/

Herpich, N. (2020). The outlook for Harvard online learning. Retrieved from The Harvard

Gazette: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/06/the-outlook-for-harvards-online-

learning/

Kokemuller, N. (n.d.). Negative Effects of Online Courses. Retrieved from SeattlePi:

https://education.seattlepi.com/negative-effects-online-courses-1094.html

Lewis, M. (n.d.). Should I Take Online College Classes? – Pros & Cons, Various Programs.

Retrieved from Money Crashers: https://www.moneycrashers.com/take-online-college-

classes-pros-cons-programs/
 6

Montgomery College. (n.d). Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Courses. Retrieved de

Montgomery College: https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/academics/online-

learning/distance/advantages-and-disadvantages-online-courses.html

National Survey of Student Engagement. (2008). Promoting Engagement for All Students: The

Imperative to Look Within—2008 Results. Retrieved from Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research: http://hdl.handle.net/2022/23411