In the age of COVID-19, uncertainty is still looming in the air. Uncertainty about your job, when social activities, businesses and institutions will take place in-person or when “normalcy” will return to our daily lives. 

Despite the unknown, one constant remains—online learning. Your online courses and programs were being taught before the pandemic and will be delivered consistently during and after.

Just as before, your instructors will teach you remotely and offer the same resources. While the world, work force and other activities remain on hold or significantly altered, UGA Online programs are an unwavering constant.

In an Inside Higher Ed article entitled “The Best in Education Wasn’t Lost When Colleges Went Online “, Austin Sarat acknowledges the struggles teachers experienced during spring’s difficult circumstances. Sarat also pointed out the other side of the story stating “Others simply noted how much they appreciated the ‘sense of normalcy’ that their online class provided at a time when so much else felt so abnormal.”

The article noted that students appreciated the teachers resilience during virtual learning and still felt they learned and grew. Instructors are more intentional with their assignments and course load while students need the connection to the virtual world, the article says. 

Programs developed for online delivery have the benefit of time. The time that faculty who are dedicated to online instruction can use for planning. The positive experiences students had this past spring are enhanced by more deliberate structure, interactions, and instructional design. The “sense of normalcy” will remain constant, providing comfort and consistency in knowing your online courses will not be interrupted and that your materials, course load, and resources will be the same. Your instructors will still hold virtual office hours and connections with classmates are part of the design.

Browse the list of all of the UGA online degrees and certificates available to you.