Online vs. face-to-face courses: Which do UNF students prefer?

Shelby Senesac, News Editor

Does your learning preference differ from the majority of students? Spinnaker released a poll on social media platforms asking students whether they prefer online or face to face courses at UNF.

A total of 305 students casted their votes. These are the results:

Chart created by Shelby Senesac / Data from Spinnaker poll

Although face-to-face courses received over half of the votes, the number of students taking online courses has increased over the years, especially recently because of COVID-19.

The chart below depicts some percentages for Student Credit Hour by Modality the past five years:

Chart created by Deb Miller, Assistant Vice-President for Digital Learning and Innovation / Chart provided by Ketan Narotam / Percentage for 2020’s Hybrid and Face to Face courses not available

One student, who asked to remain anonymous, said that he couldn’t choose between online or face to face courses because he likes and dislikes them both for different reasons.

 “I have social anxiety, so face-to-face classes are challenging for me in that aspect. Although, I do feel like the majority of face to face classes are more engaging than online classes, and I get a better grasp of the material,” the student said.

The student explained that some courses are better taught online and some are better taught in person, it just depends on the course itself.

“Sometimes I’m in a face-to-face class and in my head, I’m like, ‘I could really just do all of this online.’ I like having the ability to get my work done in the comfort of my own home and do the work when I want to. But, if I have a question about something in an online course, sometimes I have to wait up to 24 hours to get a response from my professor. Whereas in a face-to-face class, I’d get an answer right then and there.”

 Students seem to find that there are pros and cons to both online and face-to-face courses.

UNF strives to provide students with a variety of course options that best suit students’ needs.

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