Not all professors embraced the idea. Among the skeptics was John Regalbuto, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the university's Chicago campus. Regalbuto, who became chairman of the professors' group, said he was concerned that the quality of teaching suffers when students and professors don't interact in person. The professors also said students benefit more from social settings where they can interact with classmates and teachers. Clicking on a diagram of a chemical reaction, for example, might show that reaction taking place step by step.
Students still talk with teaching assistants in small groups in additional to going online.
I didn't have to be in a specific room at a specific time. Janet Poley, president of the American Distance Education Consortium at the University of Nebraska, said college students bound to certain places by work or family find the Internet ideal for their courses. Regalbuto said professors must be involved for online courses to be successful. He sees some advantages to online learning, although he still wouldn't support an entire online undergraduate education.