I'm already teaching HTML online and, in the fall, I'll go online with my first communications class. The concept, from the start of putting classes online, was far more academic than profit-oriented. Yes, online classes will generate more money from students without lessening class space, but that's not the real reason. People's lives are hectic. Online classes have brought students to me who couldn't normally take a class with me.
Online classes help students who want to take two classes that meet at the same time.
If one is online, he or she can now take both. One of the biggest concerns facing any professor who decides to put a class online is making sure the online class has the same academic rigor as the in-class version. Truth be told, I make my online classes harder than my in-class versions. Some of my students read this newsletter. The academic rigor of a class is very important outside the school as well.