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Published: June 14 2016

If you’re a Project Manager who has researched Project Management Professional (PMP®) exam prep programs for yourself or for your project team, you’re likely familiar with the “classroom versus online” dilemma. The “dilemma” goes like this: classroom courses immerse students in the material they need to know for the PMP exam in a very short amount of time, but they’re inflexible. Students have to give up a full week out of their lives in order to take the class, often travelling far from where they live to attend the course.

Online prep courses have more flexibility - but unless they are extremely self-disciplined, many students find it hard to get through all the material in a reasonable amount of time. Online classes also lack “face time” with instructors, which allows students to ask instructors for clarification on course materials in real time and can make learning more engaging.

Both possibilities - online and classroom - come with significant trade-offs, so students are left to pick the lesser of two evils.

But could there be another way? Recently, some PMP exam prep providers have started to offer courses in a new, online format that combines the benefits of both the online and classroom formats. One of these providers, Cheetah Learning, calls this format the “Virtual Live PMP.” Their Virtual Live PMP exam prep program uses a video conference format to allow students to interact with their instructor and several other students in real time.

Michelle LaBrosse, CEO and Founder of Cheetah Learning, sees the Virtual Live PMP program as the ideal format for students who want the classroom experience without needing to travel to a attend a course. According the LaBrosse, the live online format is “better than being in a classroom because there aren’t the distractions of the classroom. You don’t have to worry about the stress of getting there - either staying in an unfamiliar hotel, or commuting every day. You get to focus more on the material every day.”

In Cheetah’s PMP exam prep programs, students are required to complete all course activities independently and share them with their instructor. LaBrosse finds that their new, live online format most effectively engages students in course activities and prepares them to pass the exam. “Students can’t look over at their classmates’ work,” she explains. “They have higher accountability for doing the work themselves, rather than going with what’s going on around them, which wouldn’t help them pass the class.”

At the same time, LaBrosse explains that in the Virtual Live PMP program, “students play off and interact with each other like they would in a regular classroom, since they can see each other and their instructor on video.”

But is the live online format the best choice for everyone? “There is the same level of coaching in classroom and in the virtual classes,” says LaBrosse. “If you want a real time experience, virtual is actually a little better than a classroom.”

She warns, however, that “it might not work for people with a lot of distractions at home. They need to get away from the distractions” to experience the full benefits of the course, she finds.

About the Virtual Live PMP program, Labrosse noticed that students find the program challenging at first. “It’s been fascinating to watch. The class is a lot of work at first, but students really get into it by Wednesday [the third day of the course],” she finds. “They are following the program fully by Wednesday after they see the benefits.”

If you’re considering enrolling in a PMP exam prep course, remember to think outside of the “classroom or online” dilemma. New live online formats may bring together the best features of both of these formats to provide a learning experience well-suited to the needs of many students.