‘I felt like I wasn’t learning’: Community college students struggle with online education

California’s community colleges, the largest higher education system in the U.S. with over 2 million students, now offer 40% of courses online, according to Melissa Villarin of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. While online education is promoted as more accessible for working students or parents, many report challenges like disengagement, impersonal lectures, and the temptation to multitask during classes. Lupe Archundia, a 39-year-old student at San Joaquin Delta College, struggles with a microeconomics course relying on decade-old pre-recorded lectures and pre-released quiz answers, admitting she cut study time after discovering the answers were shared. The shift to online learning has also fueled fraud, with AI-generated students mimicking real enrollments to steal financial aid, while real students use AI tools to complete assignments. Professors, in turn, rely on AI for grading, further blurring academic integrity. Research remains inconclusive on whether online education matches in-person quality, as teaching methods and course structures vary widely. Funding models incentivize schools to expand online courses, as enrollment numbers directly impact state funding. Despite the convenience, students like Archundia—who balances work, parenting, and studies—express frustration over passive learning formats. She admits to skipping study sessions after realizing quiz answers were provided in advance, leaving gaps in her understanding despite passing exams. Critics argue the lack of engagement in online classes, where many students keep cameras off, undermines the educational experience. Meanwhile, the rise of AI-driven fraud complicates efforts to measure the true impact of virtual learning on student outcomes. With no clear consensus on effectiveness, the debate over online education’s role in higher education continues.