As the high school class of 2014 heads to college, our campuses may be less crowded. Although a degree cannot be obtained entirely online at HCC, many other colleges do offer this option. HCC seems to be following the trend, and an AA degree will be possible for online and distant learning students in the near future.

  An interview with two seniors at Tampa Bay Tech revealed why online courses are generating more students. Brandi Dixon and Leslie Grant have been working online with the website FLVS.net (Florida Virtual School) for the majority of their high school careers.

  FLVS was established as an independent fully accredited education entity in 2000. With 1,800 staff members and 120 courses, including AP and honor classes, public school students of all ages (K-12) are encouraged to get ahead or get course recovery online. FLVS is free to Florida residents, but is not exclusive to residents. Dixon and Grant say many of their friends are already taking college courses online through dual enrollment. It is available to juniors and seniors at FLVS.

  “The transition will be easy for me,” Dixon explains. “I’ve been taking online courses since my freshman year. Taking online courses at HCC just make sense, to continue what I know.”

  When asked why they chose online classes instead of night school or summer school, both had the same reply: convenience. Dixon works for the city of Temple Terrace Public Library in the evenings after school and FLVS is the most manageable for her schedule.

  “Online classes allow me to work at my own speed within my own hours (which happen to be late at night after work),” Dixon said. “I like not having the pressure of all of my peers watching me. Although I do have interaction with them, if I miss a question or I do not understand a concept, my teacher doesn’t call me out in front of my class. They explain why you were wrong in laymen terms, and as short as possible through email, instant message, phone calls, and text messages,” she said.

  “You have to be very self-driven and motivated to do study online. You can be your biggest obstacle if you procrastinate. The only down fall is that many people have distractions in their study space since they’re not in a classroom,” Grant added.

  “I don’t really care about joining a sorority or anything like that. If I want to join a club, many are offered in online chat rooms. I am planning to transfer from HCC to USF, and, if at that point I feel deprived, I may take courses on campus. In the end, the only thing I am interested in is getting my degree and starting my career.” said Dixon (when asked if online courses might cause her miss out on the college experience).

  Grant said, “I will be transferring next year to New York with a scholarship. I want to be a criminal biologist. I am taking classes on campus my freshman year. I want to make friends, but because the cost of living is so high, I might have to work more than expected. If so, I wouldn’t think twice before registering for online courses.”

  Because FLVS has made it so convenient, will other online course continue to flourish? Will our campuses turn into a ghost town? Probably not.

  HCC offered 401 distant learning online classes in spring of 2013 and 319 during the summer of 2013. Some members of the graduating class of 2014 think the numbers should double upon their arrival.

  Online classes are accessed through the MYHCC portal on the HCC homepage. All class information and contact is handled through a content-management system called “Blackboard”. Assignments and grades are also accessed through the system.

  Registration for online classes follows the same process as other classes found on Web Advisor. These programs are familiar and easy to most students. The Distant Learning Online Support Desk can be reached at (813) 259-6530.