So, Turns Out Half of Aussie Uni Students Hate Online Learning

Well, this is unsurprising. 

As we all know, this year has taken a toll on a lot of us, especially students.

Thanks to the pandemic, pretty much all students across Australia were forced to physically distance themselves from their friends, classmates and teachers. Plus, students also had to take classes and study virtually. 

Sure, it's cool to be able to attend classes in your PJs or turn your camera off when class is getting a bit… meh, but as it turns out, about half of Aussie students actually really didn’t like online learning.

According to a report from the higher education regulator, a "very large proportion" of university students didn’t like online learning and "do not wish to ever experience it again".

So, going into 2021, most students have identified that remote learning would be a problem if universities continued to teach online next year.

For some students, the reasoning would likely be down to a lack of motivation or the need to work in-person. But for many others, the main concern was the particular degree that they were studying.

Degrees in engineering, science, and visual and performing arts that often require a lot of practical and in-person study were significantly interrupted by remote learning.

The National Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) report collected feedback surveys from 118 education providers across all of Semester 1.

The survey found that between 33 per cent and 50 per cent of students were unhappy with their online learning experience (yikes, that’s a lot).

"A very large proportion of respondents… commented that they did not like the experience of online learning and did not wish to ever experience it again," the report said.

"These are large numbers across the sector and present a problem if the transition to online study must remain well into 2021."

In fact, most respondents indicated that they would prefer to go back to face-to-face learning ASAP.

What problems have students been facing? Well, 41 per cent of respondents said IT issues, 34 per cent said the lack of academic interaction, 30 per cent said issues with assignments and 29 per cent said the overall lack of engagement.

What’s even worse is that many students also preferred to keep their camera off in online video classes because they were embarrassed about their appearance, the appearance of their home or their family members.

For a lot of young people, school is a place where they can get away from problems that exist at home and 15 per cent of respondents said that being forced to learn remotely increased or caused issues with isolation, finance and their housing or home environment.

Many students also felt that the lack of face-to-face learning meant that they weren’t getting their “value for money” on tuition and argued that they were getting less class time, but more work.

Not all students had a negative experience. Between 20 per cent and 22 per cent of students had a positive response and said that they enjoyed the “flexible access to materials” that online learning allowed for.

While it’s not clear what learning will look like in 2021, some universities are still sticking with online classes until they no longer need to.

Curtin University has put forward a proposal to abolish all face-to-face lectures and replace them with three 15 minute videos a week by the end of 2021.

While this could potentially change the way a lot of students learn in the future, it is just in the early stages and is still under review for feedback and consultation.

There’s no word yet on how high school students have felt about online learning but based off this report, our guess is that it wasn’t good.

I HATE online learning. Never thought I’d miss going to lectures on campus & going to the library😭

— Nicole (@nicoleellard) November 25, 2020

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