Depending upon which school you attend, the cost of online education can be more than that of a traditional, in-person program. This is often the result of a technology fee assessed to students enrolled in at least one online class.
To be successful in online classes you must be able to motivate and discipline yourself to complete the work. Although your instructor provides guidance and lessons in the topic of the course you are studying, you are responsible for taking the time to access the resources they have made available and learning the material.
Another disadvantage of online education is the lack of social interaction that occurs between students taking a course together. While you may be discussing the class or various topics online through the discussion board or online chat room, you don't have the opportunity to really speak to your classmates and get to know them.
When attending a college in person to obtain a degree, you have access to many different campus departments and offices where services and resources are available to you as a student. Although these same services are available to you as an online student, you may find it harder to access them.
Discussing topics you don't understand with your teacher is important to ensure that you don't get behind in the class. Communication with an instructor in an online course can be more challenging than a traditional classroom. Rather than simply catching the teacher after class to ask questions, you may need to contact the teacher through a series of emails or discuss your questions via the phone. Of course the latter requires you to be able to connect to the instructor at a specific time.