While the shift to online learning was a first for many during the pandemic, the University has offered classes held completely online since at least 2013. These classes are held in a variety of schools, including the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, the McIntire School of Commerce, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
The University first began offering online classes through Coursera — an international online course provider — in 2013. Today, there are a variety of courses offered within the College and other schools that are taught virtually, either online synchronous or asynchronous classes.
Online synchronous classes meet virtually, usually via Zoom, and allow students to learn without being at the University. Online asynchronous classes have the same accessibility of online synchronous classes, but instead are self-paced and allow students to learn on their own time.
Both synchronous and asynchronous classes provide a different learning experience from in-person classes because they are not in a physical classroom space. However, these online classes provide more accessibility to non-traditional students who are pursuing higher education outside of the typical timeframe and may have other life commitments that impact their academic journey. Some of these students include working adults, or those transferring from community college who want to complete their undergraduate degrees without the full college experience. However, online courses are also open to full-time, on-Grounds students and include several McIntire prerequisites.
Jill Mitchell, lecturer of Commerce and McIntire teaching fellow, teaches current prerequisite courses “Introduction to Financial Accounting,” COMM 2010, and “Introduction to Management Accounting,” COMM 2020 — each with 800 spots — in an online asynchronous format.According to Mitchell, she does her best to create an online learning environment that is student-centered.
“Whether in person or online, I communicate to my students how much I care about them and try to shape my courses to offer my students maximum learning agency,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell recognizes that taking online courses may cause students to feel they lack engagement and connection. To prevent this, she tries to be available and responsive all day and encourages students to come to her in-person office hours through a Canvas announcement. At the beginning of the semester, she holds an “Accounting Open House” as an opportunity for students to engage in-person with her and the TAs.
While Mitchell did not make the decision to teach the classes asynchronously — as they were previously taught by a different professor in this format — she discussed her goals in teaching an asynchronous class fully online, emphasizing the need for students to engage in the material themselves.
“Success in an asynchronous course requires time management and self-discipline,” Mitchell said. “Beyond learning technical accounting knowledge, I aim for students to develop these skills to become independent learners.”
Second-year Commerce student Roberto Carbone was a student in Prof. Mitchell’s class in the Fall 2024 semester. He felt the asynchronous method was not very helpful or effective and made learning the material more challenging than necessary. While Carbone is not against all online learning, he is very frustrated with the asynchronous model.
“Zoom classes are okay,” Carbone said. “[Asynchronous classes] should not exist because it loses the reason of being in college [which is] going to class and participating and having discussions and having conversations with the professor. For me, it's more helpful if she or he guides us before on the topics and then we do the exercises.”
Recently, the University decided that the new “Foundations of Financial Accounting,” COMM 2001 — a part of the new three-year Commerce curriculum — will be switching to be taught in-person. This may help alleviate students who feel similarly to Carbone and worry that required asynchronous classes reduce student engagement with professors and classmates.
But not all students are displeased with the online asynchronous format. Third-year College student Grace Landini is currently in the asynchronous School of Education and Human Development class, “Globalization, Childhood and Culture,” EDLF 5711, and is having a more positive experience than Carbone with this mode of learning. She enjoys having her schedule be more flexible, and feels that she pays attention better because she has to hold herself accountable to learn the material.
“I feel like I'm learning just as much [as I would in an in-person class],” Landini said. “For me, because I know I have to hold myself accountable, I am paying more attention than I would if I was sitting in a 100-person lecture.”
Professors also take note of how to engage all students within this format. Lindsay Burden, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, teaches the online asynchronous undergraduate class “Engineering Economic Analysis,” CE 2020. According to Burden, CE 2020 is only one credit-hour, so it is much easier to present the material online in a way that the students can work on it within specific periods.
Burden acknowledges that as a professor, preparing class content is very different when it is asynchronous — when it is synchronous, everyone is moving together at the same pace, but for asynchronous classes, there is a lot of time and effort that needs to be put in with the long-run in mind.
“You have to be extremely intentional about what it is you're presenting, making sure to have a really good plan for the entire semester,” Burden said. “You also have to be really intentional thinking about how long it's going to take for the students to sort of go through and cover all the material.”
Burden also teaches some of her graduate level classes online because many of her graduate level students, unlike her undergraduate students, are already in full-time jobs and need to fit in further education to their careers. This serves to provide increased accessibility for students not attending full-time or in Charlottesville.
Similar to Burden, Nammy Lee, senior director and assistant professor at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, also teaches students who are not able to pursue an in-person degree. Lee teaches online synchronously for her class “Introductory Accounting I,” ACCT 3010, so she tries to put a large emphasis on classroom engagement via Zoom. Lee also believes that some students can do better in an online environment because they feel more comfortable sharing their ideas.
“When we embrace innovative ideas to teach and learn and meet students where they are and support their learning, we are truly serving our students and helping them change their lives,” Lee said.
William McDonald, professor of German Languages and Literatures, also believes that online teaching has grown and can include all types of innovative styles. He began teaching online synchronously in the Spring 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic — through the 2020-2021 academic year, many classes were taught online due to health concerns. Since he underwent a series of health difficulties that no longer permit him to teach in-person, teaching online has allowed him to continue his career as a professor.
He is currently teaching his German literature course, “Medieval Stories of Love and Adventure,” GETR 3464, online synchronously. He said he applies an innovative approach to his teaching style, incorporating music and culture to create an engaging lesson plan. He also tries to make it as easy as possible for students to contact him or meet with him virtually to get help or clarity with assignments.
“I never felt as effective in my own classroom teaching as I feel now,” McDonald said. “I feel more connected to the students.”
One of McDonald’s biggest concerns was that he did not want students to think an online class would be easier.
“I made the course rigorous, but at the same time, I tried to make it fun and visual, realizing that we're back in the Middle Ages,” McDonald said.
McDonald said teaching online has allowed him to present the main themes of the stories, but also show different avenues of appreciation for the stories, involving art, music and culture. According to McDonald, he finds the online classroom much more adaptive than his time teaching in-person.
“More courses can be done online, and I think that if the professors use some imaginative techniques, then it can be effective,” McDonald said.
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