Lynn Barwell

Strayer University
B.A. in Business Management, 2010

These are the experiences of a non-traditional college student attending online university. When I was young I fell in love, graduated from high school and got married. I got a pretty good job, I enjoyed life, and I wasn't interested in any more education. By the time I was in my forties, I regretted that decision. So, my daughter set off for university, and I headed to the local community college.

At Florida Community College at Jacksonville (now Florida State College of Jacksonville), I started out taking traditional classes, but as I became more comfortable, I experimented with some online classes. I can be disciplined when I have a goal to work towards, and I found that these classes worked well for me. I had a change of career during that time, and in the interim I worked temporary jobs for a while. In 2005 though, my husband died and my new career took on more significance as my primary means of support. When I finished up my A.A. degree later that year, I started looking for a university that would enable me to complete my Bachelor's degree online without taking time away from my job. After a year off, I chose Strayer University . It offered a degree program that interested me with the convenience of a completely online program.

One reason it took me so long to make a decision was the expense of an online university. Florida State University offered a Bachelor's of Business Administration online degree at a third of the cost, but the program required me to take all my tests in an institutional setting. The university had collaborated with the community college to hold tests in Jacksonville rather than Gainesville, but only at the furthest campus from my employer, and there was no flexibility in the timed tests. After weighing the difficulties against the savings, I ultimately decided to bite the bullet, and I haven't looked back.

Flexibility is a major plus about the online classes at Strayer. I have a required amount of work to produce each week, but for the most part it doesn't matter when I do it. Class weeks run from Monday through Sunday, so my typical pattern is to log onto my classes on Monday and check the requirements for the week. Weekly work always includes contributions to the discussion board, so I usually try to work on those first in order to give other class members an opportunity to respond. A trend quickly develops and you get to know the other students who also post early as you frequently respond to each other's discussion postings. I have learned a lot from my classmates bringing their experiences to the discussion, perhaps more so than if we had been in a classroom. People often feel freer to share in this format than they might if they had to speak up in a classroom of peers.

The quality of online professors varies somewhat, just as it does in a traditional university setting. Those I enjoyed the most were the ones who were organized and conscientious in grading, had clear class policies and consistently enforced them. Since there isn't much opportunity to really get to know the professors, my opinions were based on what I read. It has been a pet peeve that some professors don't take time to check their grammar and spelling; I expect more from educators at this level.

Lectures are offered each week, but these are mostly “canned” readings. I seldom listen to them any more. Some readers don't even know how to pronounce the words correctly, while others may read in a monotone, or with so much emphasis as to sound like bias. One of my absolute favorite professors actually recorded his own lectures. He was very knowledgeable and informative, and being able to listen to his voice gave a sense of knowing him better than the other professors.

If anyone is considering online education I would recommend it only if you are disciplined and if you like to read and write. You will essentially be educating yourself, and you had better know how to research and cite. If you stay on top of your assignments and commit to doing your best, you will do well. You don't develop the bonds with your classmates that you would in a traditional college or university, but you can work at your own pace and hold down a full time job. In 2010, I will finally graduate with a Bachelor's of Business Administration degree.

I have learned a lot along the way, and online classes have enabled me to accomplish that more easily than I could have otherwise.

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