Many college students would dream of having a class without the “going to class” part of it.

At NIU, they can do so with online courses. A recent survey indicates that students enrolled in these courses are satisfied with the quality of instruction they receive.

A limited number of these courses are offered – 15 are offered for spring 2005.

In light of budget cuts restricting universities, offering more online courses would alleviate the problems of cutting classes and class sections.

With rising tuition costs, more and more students work part- or full-time jobs along with a full-time course load. Allowing more students to take online courses in their major would help these students manage their time better. When they don’t have to go to scheduled class periods each week, they can manage their workload to accommodate their schedule.

More online courses also would benefit non-traditional students and allow them to better manage their time.

The online courses offered are limited in variety. Different courses should be offered in every department at NIU to allow students to have the choice of doing the school work on their own time.

Classroom experience is essential for college students, and some classes must be taught in a discussion setting. But for the classes that consist of a weekly lecture and three semester exams, there is no reason a student could not learn the material navigating a Web site.

By offering these courses, departments could avoid the problem of students who can’t register for a certain class or section because it has been filled.

And, when it comes time for winter and students skip class to avoid the frigid weather, they have the option of doing the same classwork from their warm bed.