Although some North Carolina school districts are increasing online course offerings due to budget cuts, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools are limiting their online course offerings.

The district still wants to offer online classes, but schools are limiting the number of course offerings to save money, said Mia Day Burroughs, vice chairwoman of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board.

“Because of budget cuts, we looked at our online class options for kids and decided as a board to limit students to taking things we do not offer in our district,” Burroughs said.

The average cost the school district pays for each online class is $400 per student, said Rodney Trice, executive director of technology and instruction for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. “Many districts have really used online courses as an option to reduce staff,” Trice said. “That’s not a route we want to take in Chapel Hill,” he said.

Online courses for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City high schools are now restricted to students who need the courses to graduate on time or who have special needs.

Trice said that in previous school years about 80 percent of students took online classes to enhance their academic program.

“They weren’t necessary for students to graduate on time,” he said.

And unlike years past, the school system can no longer offer online courses for free.

High school students take online courses through North Carolina Virtual Public School, either during the school day or at home if they are taking the classes in addition to their regular course load.

Trice said many students like having more control over their school work when taking online courses.

“They feel empowered to move at their own pace,” he said.

But school officials said there are disadvantages to online courses.

Jesse Dingle, principal of Chapel Hill High School, said that online courses sacrifice the social interaction between students and teachers.

Trice said he agreed that students benefit from the encouragement of teachers.

“Sometimes we know that high school students need a push, and teachers have traditionally been there to encourage students,” he said.

Academic integrity has also become one of the major problems with these courses, said Shari Manning, online learning facilitator for East Chapel Hill High School.

“You can Google everything,” she said.

Teachers are trying to make online tests more secure, she added.

But she said despite issues associated with online learning, she has seen the courses benefit many students in the district.

“If you are committed to the course then you will learn just as much, if not more, as you would in the classroom,” Manning said.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.