Most students who intended to attend face-to-face classes but moved online due to COVID-19 don’t think those online classes are worth the price, according to a one-question survey from OneClass.
The survey of more than 10,000 college students across the nation questions how the value of college changes if students pay the same tuition rates for a different class experience than they originally signed up to receive.
Related content: Is full tuition worth it during COVID-19?
Overall, 93.8 percent of surveyed students said virtual classes during COVID-19 are not worth the tuition cost, followed by 4.5 percent who said they weren’t sure, with 1.7 percent saying their virtual classes were worth it.
The survey included 10,367 college students who are current freshman, sophomores and juniors at one of 191 colleges and universities in the United States. All are seeking a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution.
“Many expected online classes this fall to be different from the spring semester’s quick pivot to remote learning,” according to a OneClass blog post on the survey.
“Social distancing is now the norm. There was more time to plan for remote learning in the fall semester, and professors could adjust curriculums as needed. However, student perceptions of online classes have remained relatively consistent over the past several months,” the data indicates.
April 2020: 75.5 percent of college students were unhappy with the quality of eLearning.
July 2020: 93.2 percent said that college tuition should be lowered if classes are online.
October 2020: 93.8 percent of college students say online classes aren’t worth the tuition.
“College administrators have effectively communicated their own budgetary issues, and students understand that the cost to run a higher ed institution persists even when classes move online. However, students continue to advocate that changes to the school year should result in tuition changes,” according to the blog post.
“Ithaca College junior Meghan Marzella told the AP, ‘Tuition covers so much more than just classes. The reality of the situation is, we’re still paying for things that we can’t access.’”
Dive into the survey results here.
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