HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The number of students taking online courses at Hutchinson Community College is up this semester as expected. Online classes have been offered at the college for many years, but with the pandemic, the numbers have been increasing.
“Our online enrollment, not surprisingly, is stronger this semester than it was a year ago,” College Spokesperson Denny Stoecklein said. “But even at that, it’s between 35 and 40% of our total credit load being online.”
That means more than 60% of the student enrollment still prefers to take classes face-to-face.
Stoecklein says the increase in online learning partially stems from students deciding to stay close to home and not attend a four-year college as originally planned.
“As some of them (students) had gone onto their four-year, wherever that may have been, they get there and realize in the days leading up that a lot of their classes may be transitioned online that they thought we’re going to be face-to-face,” Stoecklein said. “Some of them made the decision to come back home and take those classes in a more economical setting.”
As far as whether students having to take classes from home are doing better or worse is unknown, but Stoecklein says it really depends on the student.
“Everyone’s learning style is different,” Stoecklein said. “Some succeed better in a face-to-face setting, some are very comfortable taking the online, so it’s really an individual situation.”
For students who may have had class hours disrupted by the pandemic, the college will be offering quick learning courses that will run through December.