What Are the Differences Between Accredited Online Colleges and Traditional Colleges?

More and more students in our fast-paced world are taking online college courses as opportunities expand instead of attending traditional college classes. Since traditional classes are not always ideal for those with full-time jobs and other unique responsibilities, more online degree programs are being created to suit students’ individual needs. Here we will examine the core differences between the online and traditional colleges, both attractive for unique reasons.

Accredited Online Colleges

Online colleges are accredited by the same agencies and in the same method traditional colleges are. That means any nationally accredited online college can offer you the same quality and credibility that you can find in a brick and mortar college. Online classes offered by an accredited online college are a lot like campus-based classes, but typically the timing is more flexible for people with busy schedules. There are lectures, required reading, assignments, quizzes, tests and everything else that you would find in traditional courses. Like traditional classes, professors lead online classes and contain multiple students with common educational goals. However, you may not meet a single classmate or professor in person.

While professors still communicate with students, this is rarely done face to face. Professors instruct in modern ways—through bulletin boards, streaming video or audio, chat or Web conferences. E-mail and instant messaging are also a big part of communicating in an online classroom with both the professor and other classmates.

Traditional Colleges

Traditional college, on the other hand, has a tendency to attract those wanting the complete “college experience,” which can include dormitory living and perks like gym membership and access to athletic events alongside quality classroom instruction. Traditional college almost always requires students to be present in the classroom, and many professors will dock points from students who are not physically present, regardless of schedule conflicts or if the student is able to complete assignments without attending.

A brick-and-mortar college allows the student to talk in person, or in office hours, with a professor, or to easily interact in person with other students. True social interaction is an everyday facet of traditional college, and many who attend traditional college get involved in fraternities, sororities or academic or religious clubs, which abound at most of these institutions. And since online colleges are a fairly new offering to those seeking higher education, many traditional colleges have had time to build reputations and traditions spanning hundreds of years, reputations it will take online colleges many more years to build.