For Higher Learning, online courses are a more beneficial option than universities

The College ExperienceAs I mentioned, students miss out on the entire college experience. My opponent assumes that doing research for a professor or being a teaching assistant must be done for free. This is not true. Many universities offer paid research assistant positions [1][2][3][4]. Three of the links that I showed show research opportunites in psychology, a field that my opponent is interested in. Besides research, there is also the opportuntity to do internships outside of the University. By the time they graduate, the student can get a full college experience, research experience, work experience, and gain contacts and improve their network. Online courses are an inadequate substitute for this. The classroom experienceMy opponent says that the internet gives an anonymity factor allowing students to ask more questions. But is it beneficial for the student to be "anonymous"? Students can always go to office hours to ask more questions in a real University, an option not available in online courses. (My opponent agreed that online courses will not include office hours). This makes the student-faculty interaction private but not anonymous, just the way it should be. CostMy main point here is that if the cost is too high, students must pursue options for financial aid. Online classes will still have books if the course needs them. The determining factor is whether the subject material requires books, not whether the class is taken at a University or online. But the bigger issue is that online classes provide only a small part of the required education at a slightly lower price. Time My opponent says that online courses can be done at the student's own time. There is really no logical basis for this if you think about it: Online classes may meet at particular times just like in a University. There are many class times to choose from just like in a University. Online classes assign homework or other assignments which can be done online at the student's convenience just like in a University. My opponent compares assignements given by online courses to actual class meetings in a university. That is why she reached the conclusion that online classes can be done "on your own time". However, that is not entirely logically accurate. That is an apple to guitar comparison. Travel time is usually not a big percentage of class or work time and is realtively insignificant. With the point about time efficiency negated, my opponent's point about work experience is negated as well. Students can work the same job while going to college that they would work while taking online classses. Closing thoughtsMy opponent says: "Education is the top priority over networking and a fun environment. "At this point we must ask ourselves, what is education? Why do people get educated? Is education complete without the full experience of going to classes, participating in discussions, working with friends, forming lasting relationships with professors who could give you references, making connections with students and faculty to land the perfect job? Is course material the only thing that is important at the exclusion of everything else? Why do the majority of undergraduate students go to universities instead of taking online courses? The college environment is part of the learning process. Networking is required to get the best jobs. These factors are just as important as taking the required course material. Online classes while providing a few conveniences is not a substitute for a real education. I thank Lickdafoot for this interesting and enlightening debate. I hope that she better understood both the Pro's and Con's of online courses through her own research as well as my arguments. I too learned a lot from this debate. Sources[1] . http://biology.ufl.edu...[2] . http://www.columbia.edu...[3] . http://www.kent.edu...[4] . http://psychology.uwaterloo.ca...