Due to a lack of classroom space, the University has recently been advocating for students to take online courses, according to the Provost Office.
A survey was sent out by the Provost Office asking students how interested they were in taking some classes online. This interest in offering online courses has been spurred by the limited number of classrooms, a factor that also goes into planning class schedules and finals, according to the associate.
"Classroom space is at a premium and if some classes are offered online, the challenge of limited classroom space eases a bit," said Kirk Rawn, associate provost for international programs and academic support services.
According to Rawn, online graduate programs are also being considered.
Sophomore finance major Jinita Patel thinks that online courses would be appropriate for graduate students but not her. She also said that the large number of freshmen could have been a factor in the University pushing for more online courses.
"It makes sense for grad students to take classes online because they have jobs and internships they have to go to," she said. "But I don't right now so I think it was a bad idea to admit so many freshmen if they knew they didn't have enough classrooms."
Patel also said that she believes that taking classes online from her room would be distracting and takes away from the learning experience she paid for.
"A classroom environment is more suitable for learning because the professor is actually there," Patel said. "When sitting I'm in my room there are more distractions... For residents, we're paying to live in the dorms to get to classes easily. If I wanted to go to an online college, I would have stayed home."
Sophomore education major Linese Lopez said she would never take the online courses even though she is a commuter.
"I feel like you wouldn't get any guidance if I took an online class and you couldn't talk to anyone," Lopez said. "It would be a lot easier to just take classes from home, but I still wouldn't do it."
Sophomore nursing major and commuter Alexa Sibayan, on the other hand, said she would take advantage of online classes for their convenience.
Sophomore nursing major Patrice Journick said that taking the classes would depend on the subject and level of difficulty among other factors.
"I would take online courses but it definitely depends on what class it is," Journick said. "I think if the class requires more critical thinking, then having a professor to give opinions and being able to ask questions would be more helpful than doing it by yourself."
As of now, Seton Hall University offers online courses in the nursing, education and communication fields, 10 of which are master's programs, according to the Seton Hall website.
Tiffany Do can be reached at tiffany.do@student.shu.edu.
