A new trend to address non-traditional students’ need for education away from campus allows them to get their education online. The University of Tennessee offers several ways for students to work for degrees through this type of distance education.

“You’ll see online courses become more and more important over time,” said Brice Bible, chief information officer with the Office of Information Technology.

UT has 13 graduate degrees available online. These include master’s degrees in engineering and information sciences among others, such as MBA degree programs.

Many students who seek a degree online are non-traditional, meaning they are not in the 18 to 24 age group.

Studying online allows these students to continue with work and family obligations while achieving their degree, said George Hoemann, assistant dean for Distance Education and Independent Study.

“The students who enroll in these classrooms are generally adult learners,” Hoemann said. “It’s an issue of scheduling and life convenience.”

The program utilizes “Centra,” which allows interactive video classrooms containing two-way video and audio. These “Live Online” classes can have specific class times that students must log on in order to be registered as attending the class.

“The students would see what the professor is doing live and have a chance to interact,” Bible said. “The professor controls what is shown.”

Asynchronous courses would allow a student to work online without a set timetable.

The online classes have the same pricing structure as their traditional counterparts, Bible said. This is because they are taught by the same professors and offer the same benefits.

Bible said online classes will also be used to supplement traditional classes. Through Blackboard, teachers can ask students to work and turn in assignments online.

In the future this type of learning can transition over to students who would work on group projects virtually and not in person, Bible said.

“There’s a lot of debate and research on the quality of an online class versus a traditional,” he said. “I’m afraid the answers are not simple.”

Studies on retention of information for traditional and online classrooms have been inconclusive. The research goes both ways, Bible said.