After two years of hard work, making late night corrections on papers with the help of his daughter, and three sweaty hours watching students receive their degrees, it’s finally his turn to graduate. Wearing a hogwarts-esque gown, Trevor Reither steps up on the University Of Wisconsin’s stage to accept his master’s degree in engineering and professional practice.
“It was really exciting to be with all my peers celebrating that we’ve finished this journey,” Reither said.
His daughter, sophomore Kaitlin Reither, laughed at his response.
“He’s an engineer,” she said. “He doesn’t describe feelings well.”
Trevor called the University of Wisconsin’s program extremely engaging, and even said he liked online school better than standard college.
“The online education was more tailored to what I was looking for, for a need to fill my gaps in my education,” Trevor said. “It was more timely than going to a conventional school and it catered to business needs of working people.”
The University Of Wisconsin’s program required Trevor to participate in conferences and blogs via the internet.
“In the end it was a lot of collaboration, similar to what you do in class but just using the computer and the phone instead of actually being face to face in person,” Trevor said.
With online education, certain opportunities like communicating in person are not possible, but not in Trevor’s case.
“We had to go to three sessions in the summer where we met with the students and we worked with each other and we did problem solving,” Trevor said. “We developed little study groups you know, just like you would in a normal college, so if you didn’t have that situation, I think you’d miss part of the dealing with people and how to become a better person when you’re dealing with other personalities.”’
Online education can be seen as easy or just a degree to get a job, but not every school has this problem.
“There are some courses that are easier online, and online courses can be rubber stamps, where it’s just you doing it to get a diploma,” Trevor said. “There is schools out there that are very easy and you just gain somebody to stamp your diploma saying you graduated. The University of Wisconsin isn’t that type of school, so it’s all based on the schools.”
Counselor Julie Hersch thinks that online learning can be helpful, but also knows there are downsides.
“I believe one of the advantages is for a parent you don’t have to be away from your kid, you can be at home and do it,” Hersch said. “The disadvantage is the contact, for most people a school is a better learning environment.”
Hersch does not think that online education is fit for everyone.
“I wouldn’t really recommend a complete online program; I think an online class here and there might be helpful, but I don’t know if the programs are quite where they need to be to be a really good learning environment,” Hersch said. “I don’t think strictly going online 100 percent is a good idea at all, unless that’s what you’re going to do for a living. You know, be alone working, which isn’t healthy at all for anybody.”
Getting an online graduate degree has proven to be successful for Trevor.
“The benefit of online education was that I was able to apply the work I was doing in school, directly to my work activities,” Trevor said. “My employer saw the benefit instantly of me taking the online classes. Also at the end of the process, now I’ve been promoted and have a new position leading a combine project.”