In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the formula for education was completely changed when classes went fully remote. Now, five years since the pandemic, students are asking for online courses to come back.
According to both QC Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Patricia Price, as well as Associate Provost of Institutional Effectiveness, Rebekah Chow, “Student interest/preference for online classes is actually quite high. The 2024 CUNY Student Experience Survey revealed that 65% of Queens College students would like the college to offer more fully online courses.” This statistic demonstrates the continued desire for online courses after the pandemic.
In March 2020, the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic entered the United States. This pandemic forced many institutions, including Queens College to utilize remote courses. After the pandemic however, there is still demand for the online courses that continue to be offered.
To ensure education could continue, schools incorporated a new method of learning revolving around online meetings and calls, using services such as Google Meet and Zoom to make sure students would still have access to their education. This method – dubbed as online learning – had become the standard throughout the majority of 2020 and 2021.
Around 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown had concluded and schools reopened, online learning had become less and less important. Due to these shifts, offerings for online courses in colleges have suffered, as online classes have become an option rather than a necessity.
According to the CUNY Board of Trustees’ Subcommittee on enrollment, as of March 17th this year, Queens College has a total of 7 online programs for students to enroll in. Out of 230 total online programs across the CUNY system, QC makes up around 3%.
The decrease in online enrollment post-pandemic was attributed to the return to in-person offerings in a statement provided to The Knight News by Price and Chow.
“It’s important to consider that the enrollment rate for online classes in 2020 was reflective of the COVID-19 learning environment; almost all of the student body moved to remote learning. It follows that with a return to a campus-based learning experience—which appeals to a larger portion of the student population—the college has since offered fewer online courses.”
While there are fewer offerings now than in 2020 and issues with online learning, ranging from potential distractions, one’s work environment, and more, online classes are still valuable to many students even after the pandemic.
While there are a number of flaws with online learning for some, online courses continue to have a place in higher education. There is still hope for these online course offerings to continue serving Queens College students and improve enrollment status even further.
