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Face to face vs online uni fees


Seayork2002

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Seayork2002

As I do from time to time I am thinking about studying again but I noticed the degree I would consider if I was to study costs the same online and face to face.


I do understand there is costs in providing uni degrees regardless of the method they are taught by BUT should the fees be the same for face to face or online


This is part vent, part whinge and part I really would like to understand if there is a reason they are the same


The course I am looking at is 100% online

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Chicken Pie

i would imagine as the lecturers etc still are required to do the same amount of work, prep, marking etc and instead of costs towards the classroom it would be likely toward other infrastructure to support online work delivery

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As I do from time to time I am thinking about studying again but I noticed the degree I would consider if I was to study costs the same online and face to face.


I do understand there is costs in providing uni degrees regardless of the method they are taught by BUT should the fees be the same for face to face or online


This is part vent, part whinge and part I really would like to understand if there is a reason they are the same


The course I am looking at is 100% online

 


A friend of mine is a uni professor, and at the moment is holding classes that are 50% online (students outside Australia) and 50% in person. He obliges those who can attend in person to do so. Those who are doing the work on zoom (or whatever) take much more of his time as he gives them each personal attention to support them, much more than he needs to give the local students.

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It takes exactly the same work, if not more due to technical issues, to deliver a course online as face to face. The overheads are the same. You still have to pay academics, all the student services required, pay for the IT infrastructure etc etc. so of course the course fee is the same. Believe me, most universities are not taking in money, especially now. The one I work for has gone through massive budget cuts and slim downs where possible but is still expected to deliver the degrees both face to face and online (previously majority face to face) with the same quality etc.


Many online courses do extra catch up sessions or communication. They records lectures or have live ones. Just because it’s not face to face doesn’t mean with won’t be with a live person.


In saying that I noticed this semester my fees are slightly lower at $800 (I have a commonwealth support place to it’s not full fee) rather then $870 of last semester per unit.

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I would imagine if uni's went fully online, no need for a campus etc. that that might reduce fees, no rent/ building maintenance/ cleaning, or at least less if they could just have an office for the professor's, but yeah, I can see how just having online offered wouldn't really save them anything

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I felt a little the same when I started a TAFE course late last year. It’s not necessarily something I’m going to gain employment with, but something to get me back into the mode of study, before I go back to something more complex.

There is some theory and I understand that that would be equal to greater work (if anything), but the majority of it is practical work which requires tools, etc.

I knew someone who did this course a few years ago and unless things have changed, everything was supplied to them, including tools and a large number of single use items.

When studying online, you have to go and purchase these items for yourself.


Im not worried as this course is very cheap, but I was surprised when comparing prices and there being no difference.

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I would imagine if uni's went fully online, no need for a campus etc. that that might reduce fees, no rent/ building maintenance/ cleaning, or at least less if they could just have an office for the professor's, but yeah, I can see how just having online offered wouldn't really save them anything

 

I work in a relatively small university by Australian standards, and we have nearly 2000 staff members. The big universities have many times that - University of Melbourne for example employs around 8500 staff. So whether the courses are offered online on on campus, the physical infrastructure required to just house staff is significant.

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I would imagine if uni's went fully online, no need for a campus etc. that that might reduce fees, no rent/ building maintenance/ cleaning, or at least less if they could just have an office for the professor's, but yeah, I can see how just having online offered wouldn't really save them anything

 

You'd be surprised. The uni I work for, the majority of the buildings in use are NOT lecturer rooms etc. My campus only does block sessions (students come to uni for a week) and they are screaming for rooms more often then not and not because of students but for the staff that delivery the courses, the support staff etc. etc. Then you need appropriate rooms for the infrastructure, even with students working off campus there are a number that want quiet study spaces, library staff (because believe me even with a large number of electronic resources available they require a lot of maintenance, support, library services teams working with students online). There is not a lot of people that work from home in the uni. And this is only a small uni. (Student population wouldn't be more then 9000).

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ineedmorecoffee

I did my undergraduate degree fresh out of high school in the late 90’s face to face and I think it was good for me at the time.


Did my postgraduate degree completely online (except for tests) a few years ago, and it suited me much better as an adult with real life experience and responsibilities at home.

The postgrad course was more expensive but I think that’s because most post grad courses are.

I agree that it’s not necessarily cheaper to deliver because it’s online. It’s probably going to get even more common with the way the world is changing.

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I work for an educational institution.

You are paying for:

admin staff who enrol you

admin staff who qualify you (ie ID etc etc) as eligible for the course, eligible for any subsidies, eligible for HELP/VSL loans

admin staff to process your payments as required

admin staff to answer your online/phone/webchat enquiries

It staff who make your online access available

Library staff who ensure that that book you need is available to you online (sometimes materials need to be scanned and uploaded)

faculty staff to create the learning materials

faculty staff to answer your questions

faculty staff to grade you (online courses have no limits per class)

faculty staff to advise you re your assessment

faculty admin staff to enter the grades

faculty admin staff to chase you when you have stopped "attending" (they can check progress via online portals)

faculty admin staff to process reports about when you are able to be awarded your qualification

higher level faculty admin staff to assess if the award has been completed in line with ASQA requirements

higher level faculty admin staff to ensure that things are offered when they can be etc (teachers, semester breaks etc)

admin staff to issue you your award

admin staff to implement that website you looked on

admin staff to manage and defer your fees for your HECS/VSL - making sure that this is done properly so that you don't have to pay up front thousands of dollars

admin staff to report to the relative authorities about your progress of your course - so that if something happens, and the RTO goes bust, you don't lose all your work/progress etc

HR staff for all these staff

WHS staff for all these staff

IT staff for all these staff

Buildings for all these staff

Computers, programs etc for all these staff

staff to assess and lodge upgrades for the course

registration fees for the course

constantly ensuring that the staff have the correct training and knowledge to do their jobs (including PD for the teachers)

So while one person stands in front of a lecture hall, and lectures multiple people, there is a series of people in the background making it all happen for you.

Ensuring the materials are made available online, and the person is available to deal with you at where you are at in the course and also for another person in a different point....

Basically, it is no cheaper online v F2F, or one is losing money (which does happen) and the other is making it.

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