Why do online courses cost so much? I'm baffled.

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

I have taken a few online courses at the graduate level, and they have varied widely in structure and quality. One thing really baffles me though. Typically an online course costs more than a typical graduate level course. I cannot figure out why.

It seems as though the courses are all "turnkey" for the instructor/mentor, as the content is all put together with no changes from term to term. There is no physical space to maintain. Students are responsible for learning the content independently and having the online discussions. All this is fine, as I am an independent learner.

The online course I just finished was the worst though. The mentor was basically AWOL for most of the term. I learned a lot from doing the readings and such, but the online "discussions" consisted of students posting their initial discussion, then generally "responding" to other students with chunks of text from their own initial postings. They usually posted the minimum of two response posts, but it didn't matter as the only one attempting to actually have a discussion was me. We got feedback so late on our papers and projects and still don't have a lot of our feedback or grades.

I want to give the mentor a scathing final eval, but since I don't have grades yet, I am a little worried about possible retribution.

But my bigger question is, considering all this hands-off basically automated process, why do the online courses cost so much? They should be way cheaper than an in-person course.

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

Oh, my husband just answered this for me. "Because they can."

[elkpark]

Oh, my husband just answered this for me. "Because they can."

Your husband is exactly right. They are charging you for the convenience of being able to do graduate courses from home in your jammies.

Is this a proprietary school? They are notorious for charging a fortune for the convenience of attending an online program with low admission requirements and expectations.

[AJJKRN]

This is exactly why I choose WGU for my leadership MSN and will choose a postmasters FNP that best suits my needs if I ever bite that bullet. As far as I know there are no online discussions required in any of their nursing classes and they charge for a lump sum amount of time so whatever you get done in that time is what you get done within reason. It is the best teaching format I've ever found for independent adult learners!

I can say at the university that I did my RN to BSN through, then gen ed classes were much cheaper than my core nursing classes but no where near as cheap as the local community college. It also had those annoying discussion boards required throughout every nursing class even when the class met in person.

[verene, MSN]

I would say having worked with a few educators who run online courses that you may be underestimating the amount of work that goes into preparing and teaching one of these courses. It may be true that the course can be recycled in future terms, but that isn't always the case, and the amount of time it takes to design, prep, create, and upload course material can be substantial for the instructor. Frequently they also require more technical and administrative support than an in-person course to make sure all the technology is running smoothly.

I would guess that overtime these classes are cheaper to host than an in person class, but that they might actually cost more to initially start up. All of the online courses I've taken have cost the same as in-person (university charges tution based on number of credits) plus a technology fee. (Usually reasonable, but it does make it slightly more expensive than in-person which do not have the fee).

And yes, I would agree that some of the cost is simply "Because they can" you are paying for the convenience of being able to sit in your PJs with a mug of tea and study at 3am in the morning if that is what suits your life-style.

[caliotter3]

Oh, my husband just answered this for me. "Because they can."

I was going to say the same thing.

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

Your husband is exactly right. They are charging you for the convenience of being able to do graduate courses from home in your jammies.

Is this a proprietary school? They are notorious for charging a fortune for the convenience of attending an online program with low admission requirements and expectations.

Public institution, not proprietary.

I'm not complaining, just wondering what justifies the cost besides the market.

[SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN]

I have often wondered this myself :) but I prefer learning on my own as opposed to going to a standard lecture so I like online courses but I don't think we should have to pay so much when we are teaching ourselves and essentially only need the university of testing puposes.

[jj224]

Like your husband says - because they can. People will pay for the convenience of having classes online.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

This is an issue that is being carefully scrutinized by The DOE, at least at the undergrad level. The thing is, subsidized grants and loans are not intended for "self study"... only actual instructor led classes. These 'robo courses' do not have sufficient instructor involvement, so they are not eligible for coverage under a Federal or State grant/loan. It's a potentially serious problem, as unsuspecting students may end up getting billed for repayments for these ineligible courses.

I agree with OP. It appears that online courses are now being used as major revenue sources for many schools. It's time that more attention was paid to the quality of these courses.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Online courses have not generated as much money for schools as people think -- at least, not for the respectable schools who do it right. Of course, there are some for-profit diploma mills that make money by charging outrages prices. But for your typical state school with reasonable tuition, the online courses can cost just as much to run (if not more) than the face-to-face classroom courses.

Those online learning platforms (such a BlackBoard) are extremely expensive to purchase and maintain -- and require a sizable, expensive IS department as well as Faculty Development Departments to use. Also, as someone who has taught the same course both in class and online ... I can tell you that the online version takes a lot more of my time. The articles about the subject that I have read have said that the good schools make less profit on those classes than they expected.

So ... I think that (1) The courses don't produce as much net profit as you would think ... and (2) Some schools are charging a lot of money just because they can -- because people are willing to pay big bucks for the convenience of online courses.

[Buyer beware, BSN]

This is an issue that is being carefully scrutinized by The DOE, at least at the undergrad level. The thing is, subsidized grants and loans are not intended for "self study"... only actual instructor led classes. These 'robo courses' do not have sufficient instructor involvement, so they are not eligible for coverage under a Federal or State grant/loan. It's a potentially serious problem, as unsuspecting students may end up getting billed for repayments for these ineligible courses.

I agree with OP. It appears that online courses are now being used as major revenue sources for many schools. It's time that more attention was paid to the quality of these courses.

To me online courses are merely nameless nome moderated message boards where the dummie is required to post twice a week.

If this isn't bogus enough the online scam is the wave of the past , present and future.

There are two essential services in this country that are plainly out of control Education and Healthcare. No one can really afford either one of these and contrary to the idealology of the Adam Smith free market proponents it's not working. As we know expensive high deductable health insurance and tuition inflation rule the day. And it is only going to get worse.

Ground schools as we know them will be rendered nothing more than an occassional gathering place for the so-called "hybrid" programs.

Why? If schools can't pay the bills having to support traditional ground infrastructure than the obvious choice is to create these virtual classroom that forsake one of the most important aspects of higher education which used to be centered around Socratic interaction.

The automation of higher education instead of creating the free exchange of ideas has fostered the "I have to get my two BS posts in this week or the robot instructor will fail me" ethic.

@llg makes a great but frightening point, if respectable online schools don't make that much money, I shutter to think how online programs like South University who pioneered this online mess do. Maybe their graduation rates tell the tale. Yes, I'm sure they do.