Since the student is not forced to show up in a classroom to turn in assignments, some students may find it hard to get work finished and turned in by the deadlines. When the student is not motivated to do the work on his own, he can quickly get behind in his studies.
Students must keep up with the projects they are working on and materials they need to be reviewing. If computers are shared by other family members, books and notes are often moved or may become misplaced, causing interruptions in study or class time.
Sometimes the student may have a question for the teacher, but find she is not answering emails in a timely manner. Some teachers may be slow to return graded work, leaving the student with very little time to study over material needed for tests or final exams. In extreme situations, a teacher may be repeatedly absent or post inaccurate chapters to read or homework to do. This can cause high levels of frustration and confusion for students attending her class.
Mid-term and final exams are often administered by a proxy (qualified person allowed to give the test). Students may have trouble locating someone who is approved to oversee the test or may have to travel a great distance to get to the proxy's location. Often a fee needs to be paid before the proxy will give the test.
Although cyber classrooms are becoming increasingly interactive through chats and forums, students may still feel a sense of isolation without the day-to-day social gatherings held around a college campus.