Online learning trend helps students on fringes go to university but reveals stark digital divide ThuThursday 17 updated FriFriday 18 Pregnant mother-of-three Jessica Royce is three years into a social work degree and studying online. ( Share Print text only Cancel She hardly fits the stereotype of a university student, but Jessica Royce is a surprisingly typical example of a modern breed of student. Key points: The average online undergraduate is an over-25 woman with work and family But many others say studying online is problematic and they miss campus life She is 30 years old, lives on a hobby farm in regional WA and juggles her job with a community organisation with caring for three small children and being pregnant with a fourth.