Strategy & Planning Management help Online essay review online:: Off campus & On campus Advanatges and disadvantages
Essay Question topic??
Write about the advantages and disadvantages on Off campus and on-campus??
Solution Proposed by the question::
Introduction:
The report looks into the advantages and disadvantages of on-campus education medium and off-campus one. It compares on-campus and off-campus study and makes some recommendations on how to minimize the disadvantages.
Advantages of off-campus courses
Many Australian Universities offer off-campus study as an alternative to lecture based on-campus studies. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with both on-campus study and off-campus studies.
Off-campus courses have many advantages. They give students the opportunity to get educated without having the burden to attend classes. This is particularly useful for those who want to continue their education while working. Technology has increased the scope and nature of off-campus and distance courses. Internet has made it possible that universities and colleges can offer a variety of online courses in a wider range of subjects. Everything from syllabus to the faculty’s notes can be uploaded online so that the off-campus student can access them while sitting in the comfort of his living room (Kimberly Metz, 2010).
Through online courses a university or college can increase its reach extensively. This kind of reach is not possible solely with on-campus courses because of physical infrastructural limitations. So, online technology is playing a very crucial role in the spread of education. Those who miss out on admissions in on-campus courses can continue their education through off-campus courses like online ones (Kimberly Metz, 2010).
Another major advantage of online courses comes from cost. It is much cheaper to pursue an off-campus online course than an on-campus. Students are spared of the costs of lodging and boarding. For instance a student living in Sydney can pursue a course of a University in Melbourne through online medium without having to leave his home. Cost of education is increasing sharply and in such a scenario off-campus education is particularly useful for students coming from weak socio-economic backgrounds. It is a good development that more and more Australian Universities are offering the option of off-campus courses to students.
Off-campus courses like online ones also make good financial sense for Australian Universities. Raising adequate revenue to meet their expenditures is always a challenge for educational institutes. Off-campus medium gives them the opportunity to increase their penetration. A University in Sydney, for instance, can target students across whole Australia through the online medium. This gives a great opportunity to Australian universities to give a boost to their revenues and profitability (Chung-Hong Lee, 2012).
Major Disadvantage of off-campus study
In spite of these advantages, off-campus courses also have some major disadvantages. One major disadvantage of off-campus courses is that the student has very limited interaction with teaching faculty. Some of this limitation has been offset by online technology. Off-campus students and teachers can interact through video conferencing. However in spite of this, interaction between teachers and students is much more limited in off-campus courses when compared to on-campus ones. Students of off-campus courses often have to struggle alone with the problems that they face. There is also no peer-interaction in off-campus courses. In the absence of peer-interaction students of off-campus courses are often seized by a feeling of isolation. This sense of isolation often hampers their ability to put on their best efforts(Kimberly Metz, 2010).
Online courses increase the responsibility of the students for their learning. However in the absence of peer pressure and regular classes online students may sometimes find the burden of this responsibility too much. Right motivation is still a problem with online courses. There is need to compare the academic performance in terms of grades of on-campus and off-campus students. Do off-campus students on average get lower grades that their on-campus counterparts? If yes, then the low motivation and limited interaction with faculty and peers can be a major reason for this.
Advantages of on-campus study
On-campus courses have their own set of advantages. An on-campus degree from a good university multiplies the opportunities of improving one’s life chances. On-campus students have the advantage of continuous interaction with the faculty; they can discuss their problems with them and clear their doubts. Many courses like those in engineering and technology can be delivered better through the on-campus medium than the off-campus one. On-campus students interact continuously with their peers. The peer interaction and peer pressure can act as a source of motivation for these students (Konstantina Chrysafiadi, Maria Virvou, 2012).
Major Disadvantage of on-campus study
One major disadvantage of on-campus courses over off-campus ones is that they are more expensive. Students coming from weak economic backgrounds sometimes find on-campus courses unaffordable. Besides the cost of tuition, online courses also require outstation students to bear the costs of lodging and boarding. This significantly increases the cost of education. Many students bear their educational costs by taking educational loans. They pay these loans from their future income after finishing their education. This has the effect of lowering their income and increasing life stress. Some students get discouraged from pursuing expensive on-campus courses when they compare their costs with future benefits that are likely to be accrued.
Recommendations:
Limited faculty-student interaction is one major disadvantage of off-campus courses. This limitation can be reduced by taking steps like more video-conferencing sessions between the teaching faculty of the university and off-campus students. Universities offering off-campus courses can also conduct periodic classroom contact sessions where the teaching faculty can conduct classes for off-campus students. Such sessions will also increase peer interaction between off-campus students. Peer-interaction is likely to increase the motivational level of these students.
It is strongly recommended that universities in Australia take effective steps to cut down the costs of on-campus courses. Off-campus courses have opened new streams of revenues for Universities; they can therefore now afford to charge lower tuition and accommodation fee from on-campus students. Profit maximization should not be the guiding principle of universities and educational institutes. They should target only an optimum rate of return on their operations so that students do not suffer. Australian Universities can cut down the costs of on-line courses by focusing on increasing operational efficiency. This can be done by identifying areas where the Universities can cut their costs. The resulting cost savings should be passed on to the students in the form of lower fees.
Conclusion:
Somebody rightly said, “The world is not changed by revolutions; it is changed in laboratories.” Technology has increased the reach of education by enabling universities to offer more off-campus courses through the online medium. Students get more opportunities to educate themselves while pursuing their job or profession. Technological innovations like video conferencing have ensured that off-campus study emerges as an effective alternative to lecture based on-campus study. Australian universities too are catching on this trend. And definitely there are advantages and disadvantages associated with both on-campus and off-campus studies. The disadvantages can be minimized by understanding that the two mediums are complementary; together they can work to make Australia and world more educated.
O090
If you want Strategy and planning Management Assignment Help study samples to help you write professional custom essay’s and essay writing help.
Receive assured help from our talented and expert writers! Did you buy assignment and assignment writing services from our experts in a very affordable price.
To get more information, please contact us or visit www.myassignmenthelp.Com
