An article in Marketwatch on May 29 posits, “Coronavirus raises new questions about the value of higher education,” and looks at how students are changing their plans in light of an increase in online course offerings at universities.
In an online environment, it says, students likely have more limited access to professors, and academic support services that can help them get through college and glean valuable knowledge from the experience.
Kevin Stange, associate professor of public policy at the Ford School, is quoted about the value of in-person learning.
“To be successful academically you need a support network, you need friends, you need classmates,” he said. “You need faculty that care and that know a little bit about you — some of that happens in the classroom, some of it happens outside the classroom. All of those things are quite central to a residential college experience and even a commuter in-person college experience.”
For the entire article, click here.
Kevin Stange is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan where he teaches graduate courses in higher education policy, economics, and quantitative methods. He is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and Faculty Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education and the Education Policy Initiative, both at University of Michigan.