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The Need for Online Courses

Avery Marshall

California State University – Channel Islands

ENGL-330: Interdisciplinary Writing

Professor Stacey Beauregard

May 15, 2023

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Introduction to the Portfolio

This research topic looked at the relevance as well as the efficacy of online learning during the

shutdown due to COVID-19. The importance of providing these courses going forward was

supported by positive outcomes from different colleges. Student outcomes were also found to be

equal to if not better than in person learning supporting the efficacy of this learning modality.

There was much to be learned from this project. One thing learned was the difference

between policy writing and news writing. In policy writing it tended to follow a more

professional and academic style while news writing was more informal and did not always

conform to APA. I also learned how each genre has a different goal. Policy writing is meant to

intact change through policy while news writing is used more to inform the general public. I felt

as though my topic was more effectively explored via policy writing. That is because the topic

deals with an academic subject as such policy writing falls more in line with that topic.

One challenge I encountered was differentiating between the style of the two writing

topics. I am much more used to academic writing so learning new writing was a bit of struggle as

it was something new. However, this challenge was overcome through the feedback of my peers

giving useful information on how to improve. This portfolio will initially look at the policy

proposal and then the news article.

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Executive summary

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic many institutions and organizations have had to adapt,

education included. During the pandemic and currently the use of online learning modalities can

be seen. Beyond that, especially when looking at the college age student one can see the benefits

of online learning. Positive effects being increased flexibility, less in class distraction, and ease

of access are shown throughout the literature. Due to this one can see the importance of

providing these alternate methods of learning. By providing more online classes at higher

education institutions it will allow for more people to access college and graduate. Furthermore,

by increasing access to higher education through online learning it will allow for easier access

for a larger group of the community. From this it is being proposed for California State

University Channel Islands to offer more online classes and/or substitutions for classes that are

offered online. As mentioned above not only will this help to increase access to higher education

but the positive effects of online learning have already been shown.

Intro & background

Throughout history societies have adapted to help best educate their populations. This is

seen in our current times with higher education and the coronavirus pandemic. At the start of the

pandemic colleges as well as grade school classes began to adapt to the shutdown and the spread

of the virus. One such adaptation was the implementation of online learning. While this was a

practice prior to the pandemic it became increasingly prevalent and necessary. Many institutions

of higher education moved their curriculum to the online space, which in turn led to

“undergraduate students enrolled in at least one distance education course was 97 percent higher

in 2020 than prior to the pandemic in fall 2019 “ as well as “number of undergraduate students

exclusively enrolled in distance education courses was 186 percent higher in 2020 than in 2019”
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(“Distance Learning”, n.d., para. 1.). These numbers of students enrolled were significant as “in

fall 2020, some 75 percent (11.8 million) of all undergraduate students were enrolled in at least

one distance education course” coupled with “44 percent (7.0 million) of all undergraduate

students exclusively took distance education courses” (“Distance Learning”, n.d., para. 1.). Due

to the start of the pandemic one can see the increase in uptake of online college courses.

However, that brings into question the efficacy of these classes when compared to their in

person counterparts. A study published in the BMC sought to answer this question. The “study

employed a quasi-experimental design” which looked at “482 pre-doctoral students in a U.S

dental school” and “course grades for online courses during summer quarter 2020 were

compared with that of a control group who received face-to-face instruction” (Zheng et al., 2021,

para. 2). The final outcome of this study was that “online courses during the pandemic could

achieve equivalent or better student course performance than the same pre-pandemic in-person

courses” ( Zheng et al., 2021, para. 4). From this one can see the efficacy of online learning even

in courses as intensive as the ones studied.

Furthermore, a “qualitative case study was conducted from March to April 2020” at the

“University College of Medicine and University College of Dentistry, Lahore” which used a

sample of “12 faculty members and 12 students” (Mukhtar et al., 2020, para. 2). This study

utilized “[f]our focus group interviews” which consisted of “two each with the faculty and

students of medicine and dentistry were carried out” (Mukhtar et al., 2020, para. 2). When

compared to the previous study the outcomes were similar in that “[t]he current study supports

the use of online learning” due to the positive effects of “[o]nline learning modalities” which

“encourage student-centered learning and they are easily manageable during this lockdown

situation” (Mukhtar et al., 2020, para. 4). These online learning modalities help to create
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flexibility so the student may access education. This research further the usefulness of online

courses as students in higher education were shown to have positive outcomes.

In addition, to the above mentioned positive effects on overall learning there were shown

to be additional benefits in obtaining mental health care. In some areas there was an increased

focus on mental health as well as additional ways to access that help. One modality being “via

online referrals and teletherapy with school psychologists and counselors” which in turn led to

“[o]nline scheduling . . . [making] it easier for students to access mental health resources”

(Abramson, 2021, para. 5,6). This in turn has led to greater focus on the general mental health of

students from both parents and educators (Abramson, 2021, para.7).

Stakeholders

When considering a policy or change it is important to consider those who will be

involved in the change. With online learning focused on the college age student the stakeholders

are the students, professors, school administrators, and those who fund the school (private, public

or other). The students are involved for the reason that they are the ones who will be offered

these online courses. Online courses may be a boon for the student who does well with online or

who has a schedule which does not allow for in person schooling. In regards to the professors

they are involved as they would have to adapt their curriculum to the online environment. This

may in turn lead to increased strain on those unfamiliar with technology, however this issue may

be curved by parking them with their more tech savvy counterparts. When looking at college

administration they are involved as they must properly staff to accommodate for an increase in

online courses as well as allocate funding if need be. The final stakeholder is those who fund the

colleges for example private donors or the state. The college may need an increase in funding

initially to create these online programs and that money would come from funding.
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Policy Recommendation

The recommendation for a new policy is this, to increase the number of online courses at

CSUCI. This policy would not decrease the amount of in person classes but only focus on

increasing online courses The goal is to allow for people of all backgrounds to have easier access

to higher education. This is done to help those who are unable to go to school on set days still

receive their education. Furthermore, by increasing these types of courses it would give students

more options in how to receive their education. By not decreasing online courses it also accounts

for those who do better with in person instruction. Finally this policy would also create a safety

net for if another lockdown occurs due to disease spread.

Implementation

The implementation of this policy would require a few different prerequisites to be

completed. First there would need to be an efficient plan in how to not only move classes online

but also find staffing to teach those classes. Secondly, approval from school administration and

the state may be required to ensure these classes would fulfill the same graduation requirements

as their in person counterparts. Thirdly there would be some obstacles that would need to be

overcome. These obstacles include adapting in person classes to online which could be

accomplished by having a group of professors working together to adapt the course. Another

obstacle would be funding if additional staff is needed. Funding could potentially be obtained

through state grants and/or private donations. The other foreseeable obstacle is

professors/instructors who are not technologically inclined may have difficulty if teaching an

online class. This issue could be curved by not assigning these classes to those professors, having

the more tech savvy professor teach online, and holding workshops to help those who want to

improve become more inclined to online teaching.

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Conclusion

As seen during the pandemic people must adapt to their environment. One such

adaptation was the implementation and increase of online learning. Not only was this shown to

be an effective way to learn but also allowed for other problems to be explored such as access to

mental health. Due to the shown efficacy it is proposed to have an increase in online classes to

allow for students to have higher education more accessible. While there may be obstacles these

could be overcome. By overcoming these obstacles and putting this policy into place it would

allow for more people to access higher education in turn creating a more equitable education

system.
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Does Online Education Work?

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about many changes in response to the spread of the

virus. As a means to stop spread, different sectors of society adapted to function and continue

working. One such sector was that of education. Many educational institutions ranging from

primary school to doctorate programs moved to online learning. During this time there was

research into the efficacy of online learning during the pandemic. What was found was that

online courses were an efficient means of education.

The first piece of research that looked to answer if online learning is effective comes

from the United States. It was a study initially published in the BMC which “employed a

quasi-experimental design” and reviewed “482 pre-doctoral students in a U.S. dental school”.

The goal was to look at not only grades but overall satisfaction of the participants involved.

What the researchers found was that “80% of them wanted to continue with some online

instruction” which in turn showed a decent level of satisfaction. The other topic of concern was

that of grades and if performance would mirror in person. Researchers compared students who

took face-to-face instruction the quarter before to those who took the courses online. What was

concluded was that “in 16 out of the 17 courses compared, the online cohort during summer

quarter 2020 was equally or more likely to get an A course grade than the analogous face-to-face

cohort”. From this research it was found that with this cohort that online instruction was

successful. It was successful in both student outcomes as well as overall learning.

Another group of researchers also wished to assess the usefulness of online learning.

Coming from the country of Pakistan “a qualitative case study was conducted from March to

April 2020”. The researchers obtained their participants from the “University College of

Medicine and University College of Dentistry, Lahore” and the total population sampled was “12
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faculty members and 12 students”. These researchers had a similar outcome to the ones from the

United States. What they discovered from the group research was there is support for “the use of

online learning” as well as “[encouraging] student-centered learning” as well as being “easily

manageable during lockdown situations”. From this it was concluded that in addition to efficacy

there are also those added benefits of ease of access even during a pandemic.

I was fortunate enough to be able to speak to those who are current college students and

speak to them about their views on online learning. The first individual I spoke to reported no

difference in grades between online and in person. This person also liked the flexibility of online

classes as he works a full time job. It was stated how it is much preferred to go home and

complete school work rather than have to commute to campus after working. Another person I

was able to talk to enjoyed online courses for similar reasons. This person also added the

preferred online courses as it was easier to complete schoolwork in their home rather than in

class.

One downside reported by both people interviewed was the lack of social interaction.

Both enjoyed interacting with their classmates and reported certain assignments were easier to

complete in face to face classes. One such example was the difficulty in attempting to complete a

group project in a fully online class. They reported it was difficult to coordinate with their group

mates which then led to an increase in stress. The interviewees felt that competing group projects

in person were significantly easier to complete. However, this was the only downside or dislike

that the two interviewed reported. When they were asked about cost there was no reported

difference in cost between online or in person.

As we continue to grapple with COVID-19 we will have to continue to adapt. Online

education is one such form of adaptation to this virus. From the above research the effectiveness
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of online coursework was supported. In addition, from my own conversations with those in the

population reported an overall positive experience with online learning. It poses additional

questions to be looked at such as how do we continue to improve these programs? How can we

mitigate the issues described with online coursework? Regardless, as we continue to adapt to our

ever changing world we will have to continue to adapt to different sectors of society such as

education.
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References

Abramson, A. (2021, September 1). Capturing the benefits of remote learning. APA. Retrieved

March 27, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/09/cover-remote-learning

Mukhtar, K., Javed, K., Arooj, M., & Sethi, A. (2020, May). Advantages, limitations and

recommendations for online learning during COVID-19 pandemic era. Pakistan journal

of medical sciences. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7306967/

National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.). Distance Learning. National Center for

Education Statistics. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=80

Zheng, M., Bender, D., & Lyon, C. (2021, September 16). Online learning during COVID-19

produced equivalent or better student course performance as compared with

pre-pandemic: Empirical evidence from a school-wide comparative study. BMC Medical

Education.Retrieved March 27, 2023, from

https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-021-02909-z