More college students logging on to learn

Marcus Ibarra earned a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Arkansas, completing a two-year program in December 2014 — all without setting foot on campus.

Ibarra took all 10 of his classes for the program online.

“Working full-time, I didn’t have time to sit in a classroom,” said Ibarra, 37, of Springdale. “It allowed me to do it on my own time, either in the mornings or evenings or during breaks at work.”

Millions of postsecondary students nationwide enroll in classes delivered online each year. Northwest Arkansas’ institutions of higher education, both big and small, have adapted to the trend.

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is one example. A total of 12,293 students took at least one online course during the 2014-15 academic year, an increase of 71 percent from just two years earlier, according to the university’s Global Campus.

U.S. News & World Report this year ranked the university’s online bachelor’s degree programs 49th nationally among the 288 ranked institutions — up from 148th last year.

Two online master’s degree programs — engineering and education — also ranked well. Engineering ranked No. 33 among 82 programs and education ranked No. 53 among 248 programs.

Ibarra went through the engineering program with his two brothers, both of whom live in Conway. He was able to get a promotion at work because of the degree he earned. He is a quality assurance manager at Dayco Products in Springdale.

The teachers did a good job for the online students and were available for help when necessary, Ibarra said.

There were challenges, such as organizing meetings for group projects. Some classes also required access to university computers, which could be done remotely, but that tended to be slower than it would be for students on campus, Ibarra said.

The university’s Global Campus department supports academic units in the development and delivery of online and distance education programs and courses.

Javier Reyes, vice provost for distance education, said faculty members wanted a format that was more than just the standard lecture. So the university began using the light board — a pane of glass the faculty member can stand behind and write on while giving a lesson.

“It allows the faculty to write out an equation, for example, and be able to explain it as they’re looking at the camera,” Reyes said. “And then we can take that video and add animations or graphics on the side.”

University data reveal some interesting facts regarding gender where it comes to online enrollment. During the 2014-15 academic year, 63 percent of the 717 undergraduates enrolled only in online classes were women; at the same time, only 42 percent of the 1,581 graduate students took exclusively online classes.

At Northwest Arkansas Community College, the number of online class sections rose from 230 during the fall 2011 semester to 290 last fall semester, an increase of 26 percent in four years.

In that same time frame, the number of students taking at least one online class through the college increased 2.8 percent, even though overall enrollment decreased 7.9 percent.

The college offers several degrees that can be completed either mostly or entirely online. The growth in its online presence has been driven by the faculty members, not the administration, said Kate Burkes, director of distance learning.

“It’s very organic here,” Burkes said. “Some schools have a top-down approach. We don’t do that here. We trust faculty to know what to do to have the best outcomes for their students.”

Online education is especially helpful for working adults, who make up a significant percentage of the students the college serves. The average age of the college’s students is 26.

“A lot are moms,” Burkes said. “(Distance education) has enabled them to continue their education because otherwise there’d be no way.”

Distance learning requires self-discipline and good reading and communication skills, Burkes said. Students must take the initiative to reach out to an instructor when they run into a problem, she said.

Bryan Aguiar teaches economics and business at the college. He developed an online macroeconomics course he began teaching at the college in 2002. About half of the six classes he teaches each fall and spring are online.

In between the assigned reading and videos, Aguiar will conduct class discussions via email. He also offers online office hours at least once a week, where he can video conference with students, he said.

“You definitely have to be motivated to do the online courses,” Aguiar said. “The challenge is a lot of students define learning as coming to class and having a teacher tell you what you need to know. You have to be someone willing to seek out information.”

Aguiar has experienced distance education from the student’s perspective, too. He did most of his doctoral coursework online through Argosy University.

John Brown University in Siloam Springs offers online courses for master’s degree programs and through its degree completion program, said Lori Walker, an assistant dean.

John Brown also has seen online participation skyrocket, from a combined 463 undergraduates and graduates in 2011-12 to an estimated 970 this school year, according to statistics provided by Walker.

“Right now, at least half of our graduates are taking at least one class online per semester,” Walker said.

While John Brown draws students from across the country, its distance-learning offerings haven’t expanded the school’s reach much. About 90 percent of the students taking online classes live within driving distance of the school, Walker said.

Ecclesia College in Springdale has 183 students, half of whom are enrolled through distance education. Ecclesia began its online program with one student in 2010, said Angie Snyder, registrar for Ecclesia’s distance division.

“We purposely grew slowly in the first few years because we wanted to make sure we had a good infrastructure that would support superior student services,” Snyder said.

Ecclesia offers 10 degrees online, as well as a certificate in teaching English as a second language. The college plans to add a master of business administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science, according to Paul Snyder, Angie’s husband and director of the distance division.

Courtney Erickson, a fifthgrade teacher at Harp Elementary School in Springdale, obtained her master’s degree in educational leadership through the University of Arkansas in 2014. She completed all but three of the 12 classes online.

“What I enjoyed most was the flexibility,” she said.

She acknowledged the online model isn’t for everyone.

“If you’re not a good time manager, time can slip away from you. That’s a big con,” Erickson said. “And some people just do better in a classroom where they can be with the professor.”

It was the second master’s degree Erickson had obtained from the university. Her first one came entirely through the traditional classroom setting. The second experience, she said, was “10 times better” than the first.