By Tim Mandell
Register News Writer
RICHMOND —
Technology, especially the Internet, has made it easier to take a college class from a different campus across state or even from the comfort of one’s own home.
The Distance and Online Learning program at Eastern Kentucky University continues to grow as more and more students are able to enroll in classes without having to be on campus or give up their full-time jobs.
During the 2008-09 school year, more than 18,500 course enrollments through distance education at EKU, which is a 40-percent increase from the previous year, according to EKU’s website.
More than 60 classes are offered through compressed video or two-way videoconferencing that link Kentucky’s eight state universities together, as well as community colleges, EKU regional campuses, centers, public schools and state agencies, according to the website.
“It’s another form of learning that has become very popular,” said William St. Pierre, program director for credit programs. “It’s a very important avenue for us. We’ve been using it for more than 10 years.”
More than 100 Internet courses are offered through the university, according to the EKU website.
“We have a lot of non-traditional students,” said Michelle Estelle, distance learning coordinator at EKU. “It’s easier for those students who are working parents and have full-time jobs to take classes.
“It’s really growing by leaps and bounds,” she said. “The way the economy is, a lot of people are going back to school to further their education. They can still work and take evening classes or online classes.”
While the online and distance learning programs continue to grow in popularity, some students have expressed their displeasure at rising tuition costs for the classes.
EKU’s Board of Regents increased tuition by 5 percent for the school year. Online instruction tuition was raised from 125 percent of normal per-credit-hour rates to 130 percent.
In letters sent to the Richmond Register editor, EKU students Debra Gallant and Rondajean Foulks expressed their concern that increases in online tuition would put the cost of education out of reach for non-traditional students..
“Non-traditional students, like myself, have full-time jobs with varying hours. The ability to earn a degree while taking online classes has meant a lot to myself and others like me," according to Foulks.
“EKU has stated that it prides itself on helping non-traditional students achieve their educational goals,” she wrote. “I do not believe this is true. Many students, like myself, due to the overwhelming financial burden EKU has now placed on us, will either drop out of EKU or take courses from other universities.”
Gallant expressed similar concerns.
“Placing such a high percentage of additional revenue on such a small student population is not only unfair, but it will ultimately drive students away from online courses and the university,” she wrote. “Adult students that need to work and choose to stay at Eastern will lose their flexibility in scheduling courses and probably have to stay in school longer to complete their degree.
“This tuition hike at this late date also prevents students from seeking out alternate schools as many admission and scholarship deadlines have passed,” she wrote. “Even if an alternate school were available, finding needed classes open for registration would be nearly impossible.”
EKU charges $276 per credit hour for students that take classes on campus and $358 for students in the Distance Learning Program.
Full-time students taking classes on campus pay $3,312 per semester, while a Distance Learning student would pay $4,296.
“It costs more to pay faculty and to develop online classes,” said Harry Moberly, EKU’s executive vice president, adding that when an online student takes a required class that is only available online, they are charged the regular tuition rate.
According to information from their websites, Western Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky have comparable tuition costs.
Western charges regular students $315 per credit hour and online students $378.
Full-time regular students at Western pay $3,780 per semester, while there is no full-time distance learning rate at Western.
UK charges regular in-state students $343 per credit or $4,305 per semester for lower division classes and $353 per credit or $4,429.50 per semester for upper division classes..
UK charges the same tuition for distance learning students.
Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@
richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.
