Why is teaching online still viewed with prejudice by some academics? Photograph: allOver photography/Alamy
My name is David Newton, professor of business studies. I'm an online higher education tutor. Some of you may read that last sentence as a confession, rather than a simple statement of fact. Why? In my view, it is because – despite its growing popularity and valuable role in the future of higher education – online learning is still a mystery to many in academia, and viewed with prejudice by some.
Take me, for example. People assume I'm some new breed of academic. I'm not. I am currently a tutor and programme director for undergraduate and MBA business degrees with a respected online learning provider. But my background is no different from any other university professor. I've worked in numerous UK and overseas universities, researched and published widely, and was dean of business and vice-principal at the Royal Agricultural College, where I still hold a visiting professorship in strategic management.
I'm not a radical, or anti-establishment – I've loved and respected working at every university I've joined. I just happen to have moved into a different learning delivery model because I knew it would give me greater flexibility to continue with my academic interests and spend more time with my family. It's a model that fits around my life.
That's something I share in common with my students. They aren't unusual either. They just choose to study online because the flexibility suits them. Online higher education means students can combine education with employment – often fast-tracking their careers as a result – or fit study around family commitments.
These students don't pursue online degrees as second best, nor are they students who have somehow been enticed away from traditional universities with promises of a better answer. They choose to study online because it simply works better for them. In most cases, it's also a far more affordable option than a campus-based degree – and it's clear that financial factors are increasingly driving higher education choices across the board.
So what are online students like? They're just like any other students pursuing academic objectives. The only real difference is that they tend to have more 'real world' experience. Because a lot of my students are in employment, they are much quicker to grasp theory and see how it can be put into practice. They therefore push us to reflect that in the course content; tutorials will commonly feature their real-life experiences, a benefit for all.
Tutorials are another aspect of online higher education that seems to mystify and confuse the onlooker. The popular myth is that online education means reduced contact time and poorer quality provision – whereas in fact the opposite is true.
When I was teaching on campuses, I often found students were reluctant to knock on my office door or kept quiet during a traditional face-to-face tutorial session – particularly those who were struggling with a topic. Technology, now ubiquitous in modern life, has removed those barriers.
In my current role, students are quite happy to email me and debate ideas or take part in interactive 'live chat' video tutorials. These are held very frequently – typically, I will host six tutorials per module, per quarter. Forums are another powerful tool for encouraging quality interaction – again, using familiar technology to encourage the lively exchange of ideas and independent thinking.
And what about the quality of the qualifications themselves? Surely an online degree must have different academic processes or standards? Well, no actually. Where I work, the same academic processes are in place that you would find in any UK university – and in many cases, I would argue that they even go further.
For example, we report to external exam boards four times a year via exam committees and conduct external verification of exam papers, module content, and samples of marking. We are also encouraged to assess and reassess our work continually – for example, producing continuous module reports to highlight student performance, any technical issues, and suggested improvements.
The quality of the learning we provide and the impact it has on students' lives is what has always driven me – and continues to do so. Knowing that I'm able to give people a quality academic experience, via a flexible model that makes learning possible for them, is a great motivator.
I'm not saying that online higher education is a model that will replace traditional universities. It won't and I don't think it should. The two are complementary. But it is a model that meets the needs of an ever growing group that prefers to study this way – and a vital means of ensuring UK higher education retains its share of the international market. There is no mystery about it. All the traditional elements of university learning are still there, they are simply adapted for a technological generation.
Professor David Newton is a module tutor and programme director of undergraduate business programmes for online learning provider RDI – follow it on Twitter @RDIonline
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