The Role of Online Learning in University Pathway Progression

Introduction

The use of online learning has become a necessity during the educational paradigm shift that has been the Covid-19 pandemic.  Online learning can be defined as “learning experiences in synchronous or asynchronous environments using different devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, etc.) with internet access. In these environments, students can be anywhere (independent) to learn and interact with instructors and other students”[1].  This blog focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of online learning now that it has become a critical aspect of pathway routes to university degrees.

 

What is a Pathway Programme and Why Study It?

Pathway programmes can be seen as university bridging or preparation programmes that give international students a second chance to get to university.  Pathway programmes, often called foundation programmes, are designed to enable international students who cannot access university directly to boost their academic and English language grades such that, post completion of the pathway programme, they can now meet university entry criteria and successfully transition to their chosen university degree.  International students in this context are students for whom English is not their first language and who wish to travel to an English-speaking country for university degree study.  Without completing a pathway programme, such students are locked out of the university system. 

 

So how do pathway programmes work and why should international students avail of them? Simply put, a student chooses a university degree programme s/he wishes to study, and then chooses which pathway programme will get her/him there.  Guaranteed progression to the student’s preferred university and degree programme is usually offered with the condition that the student passes the pathway programme and secures a visa to study in the country in which the university is located (the destination country).  Guaranteed progression is only possible if there is a written agreement between the pathway programme provider and the university in question that describes the guaranteed progression arrangements.  Beware the pathway programme providers offering fool’s gold who do not have such guaranteed progression arrangements agreed in writing with their university partners!

 

The Inclusion of Online Learning in Pathway Progression Routes

The traditional approach to pathway programme education for international students necessitates the student having to travel to study in class in one country (the pathway country) or to the destination country before progressing to university in the destination country, also in class.  In the post Covid-19 world, this model is only a part of the emerging picture.  The travel restrictions that have emerged since the pandemic began have limited international students’ ability to travel to pursue in-class study and it has limited the ability of education providers, i.e., pathway programme providers and universities, to provide their tuition in class.  Online learning became a necessity to allow programmes of all kinds to be completed during the pandemic. Where in class study is available, it now tends to be a mixture of remotely accessed online learning and in class learning to form what is commonly called a blended learning approach. As we all begin to emerge from the pandemic and the corresponding travel restrictions in particular, the question is often asked as to what role for online learning in the post Covid-19 world?

 

There are now four different routes that international students can take to enable them to get to university using the pathway programme as their second chance.

1. Study a pathway programme in class (blended) in the destination country assuming a student can travel to that country for in class study…the traditional model.
2. Study a pathway programme in class (blended) in a pathway country assuming a student can travel to that country before travelling to the destination country to study their degree in class (blended)…a common alternative to the traditional model.
3. Study a pathway programme online before travelling to the destination country to study their degree in class (blended)…has quickly become a common alternative to the traditional model largely because of Covid-19 restrictions.
4. Study a pathway programme online and study the university degree fully online also…a more recent alternative to the above models

 

The advantages and disadvantages of each are now explored with each option proving favourable to different student cohorts for different reasons.

 

 

 

Study a pathway programme in the destination country assuming a student can travel to that country for in class (blended) study.

Advantages:

• Study in class with destination university teachers who will teach in a similar manner to the university teachers.
• Easy access to the destination university with on-campus options often offered.
• Familiarity with the country, the university, the location, the accommodation, and the amenities before studying at the university while studying the pathway programme.
• Students get an immersive English language and study abroad experience that will improve their English language skills to a high level.

 

Disadvantages:

• The pathway programme tuition fees for the on-campus programme are usually more expensive than the alternatives.
• Students must incur the higher costs of living associated with studying the pathway programme in the destination country in addition to the subsequent tuition costs and costs of living while studying their degree at the same university.
• Students must have enough educational ‘credits’ to secure study abroad visas for the destination country which can prove difficult in some countries without completion of a pathway programme elsewhere first.
• Students will not know any other students before they arrive and will not have this important social network to help them to adjust to overseas study.

 

Study a pathway programme in class (blended) in a pathway country before travelling to the destination country to study their degree.

Advantages:

• Study in class (blended) with university-standard teachers often on a university campus that helps them to prepare for destination university study.
• Students save money from lower pathway programme tuition fees and lower costs of living in the pathway country versus the destination country.
• Students build educational ‘credits’ for study abroad visas.
• Students will have already made friends with their classmates to provide a useful network for when they progress to their destination university.

 

Disadvantages:

• The teaching style may be different to that of the destination university unless the pathway programme provider has customised its teaching to suit the destination university teaching style.
• Students still have the costs of living associated with studying abroad in the pathway country.
• Some students may not wish to have two different study abroad experiences, i.e., in both the pathway country and in the destination country.
• English language levels take longer to improve versus studying in an English-language speaking country.

 

 

Study a pathway programme online before travelling to the destination country to study their degree in class (blended).

Advantages:

• Study online with university-standard teachers that will prepare students for the remote online learning aspects of the destination university blended learning approaches.
• Students have more flexibility to study at times and in ways that suit their circumstances and lifestyle.
• Students who can show universities that they have the self-motivation to complete their pathway programme remotely are often viewed favourably by destination universities when considering their application. Such universities treasure independent autonomous students.
• Much lower tuition fees than in country in class (blended) alternatives and students avoid the costs of living associated with travelling to pathway or destination countries for in class (blended) study. The savings from both can be used to fund destination university in class (blended) study instead that in turn boosts visa application success.
• Students will have already made friends with their classmates to provide a useful network for when they progress to their target university.

 

Disadvantages:

• Some students may struggle with not being in class with fellow students from a social perspective, i.e., the ‘lonely learner’ effect, unless social interaction is actively and creatively promoted by the pathway programme provider.
• Students miss out on the study abroad experience while studying the pathway programme.
• Students must have good internet connectivity for online learning.
• English language levels take longer to improve versus studying in an English-language speaking country.

 

Study a pathway programme online and study the university degree fully online also.

Advantages:

• Study online with university-standard teachers that will prepare students for the remote online learning aspect of the destination university online programme.
• Students have more flexibility to study at times and in ways that suit their circumstances and lifestyle with much more material readily available in online-ready formats that facilitates much greater levels of self-directed learning.
• Students who can show universities that they have the self-motivation to complete their pathway programme remotely are often viewed favourably by destination universities who also want their students to complete their degree fully online.
• Students avoid the costs of living associated with travelling to destination countries for in class (blended) study.
• Students never need to apply for overseas visas which, for some countries, is a major advantage.

 

Disadvantages:

• Some students may struggle with not being in class with fellow students from a social perspective.
• Students miss out on the study abroad experience completely such that the pathway and degree programmes provide an international education experience but not a study abroad experience.
• Not all degree programmes lend themselves to fully online teaching, i.e., science and engineering programmes that tend to need laboratory or field work that is integral to the study of their degrees.
• Students must have good internet connectivity for online learning.
• English language levels take longer to improve versus studying in an English-language speaking country.

 

None of the above options is the best for all students. As education providers, surely it behoves us to offer choice to give students that second chance at university education, often the keys to their chosen careers.  The choice of how, when, where and at what cost a student learns is in itself the biggest opportunity that online learning provides today’s international students, whether it be a as a fully online offer or a part of a hybrid approach. Education providers need to put time and creative effort into making sure that students who choose online learning as a ley aspect of their study journey are treated with the same degree of care, integrity, professionalism, and quality as would be the case for the traditional student.  Online learning can be engaging, socially inclusive and fun if providers pay enough attention to why, how, and what they offer in the online world. 

  

Conclusions

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”

Reinhold Niebuhr, American Theologian

 

I will defer to the last part of Reinhold Niebuhr’s ‘prayer’ and focus on the wisdom of knowing the difference between what we can control and what we cannot.  The pandemic and its consequences for travel and in class learning is still having a massive impact on international education and there is little any one of us can do about it, unfortunately. What we can do, however, is decide how to make the most of the situation we all find ourselves in. In an education context, while online learning had already become mainstream in some educational contexts, it is now mainstream in all educational contexts.  All that is yet to be decided is the extent to which formerly fully in class programmes will employ the more recent blended learning trends into the future because of the advantages to the student and their learning journeys and not just as a no-choice option in a Covid-19 ravaged world.

 

All indications point to the continued use of online learning for university degree education and for pathway programme education.  Perhaps the biggest opportunity that online learning has provided to international students who wish to avail of the second chance that pathway programmes allow them is that access to education can now be widened in ways that traditional in class learning could never do because of the choices it offers students.  Is that not an opportunity worth fighting for in itself?

 

[1] Shivangi, D., 2020. Online Learning: A Panacea in the Time of COVID-19 Crisis. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 49(1) pp. 5–22.