Many students take advantage of the extra time over the summer to earn additional college credit. But, most summer classes at Kirkwood are online. The question is, should there be more of these classes offered in-person? There are many advantages to taking both in-person and online classes. Each have their pros and cons.
A few pros for taking online classes may include better time management with your own schedule and pace, being able to do work anywhere at any time and more independence.
On the other hand, the advantages of in-person classes include better focus, more one-on-one support and fewer distractions. These advantages are very important, especially during the summertime. However, Kirkwood does not offer many in-person summer classes. This can be unfortunate for students who need credits and are unable to learn well online.
It is understandable that faculty cannot always be on-site in the summer. Kirkwood offers limited in-person classes that benefit students who struggle to learn online.
Only having a few in-person classes may cause students to lack focus and fall behind on coursework. Being online, professors are not always able to respond right away in these cases.
If Kirkwood offers more in-person classes during the summer, students can spend more time on campus and interact with other students and the professor in the classroom. This helps the learners and the professor when giving feedback and information.
There are many benefits to learning in-person, including real-life interactions, better focus and more direct feedback. By adding more face-to-face classes in the summertime, it may increase enrollment, GPAs and accessibility.
Liz is a second year Journalism and Mass Communications student who has been Creative Director and News Editor with the Communiqué. She also works at 88.3 KCCK as a Radio News Intern and the Corridor Business Journal as a Reporting Intern. After receiving her associate degree from Kirkwood, she will transfer to the University of Iowa with the 2+2 program. At Iowa, she will continue her journalism passions with the Daily Iowan newspaper and DITV. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, she plans to work as a Multimedia Journalist and Reporter/News Anchor for KCCI in Des Moines or another station in Iowa.
