Online education: Higher ed faculty won't buy in

cyberguypr

Interesting article.

Full article: Online education: Higher ed faculty won't buy in | ZDNet

A continuing failure of online education has been its inability to convince its most important audience - higher education faculty members - of its worth. The lack of acceptance of online among faculty has not shown any significant change in over a decade - the results from reports five or ten years ago are virtually the same as current results. For all of this time there has not been a majority of any group of higher education institutions that report that their faculty accept the "value and legitimacy of online education." Current results, if anything, show that the problem is getting worse.

Jon_Cisco

20 years ago it might have been hard to see how online education could be successful.

Now I think that it has proven to be a viable education option and will only expand as the current generation of kids grow up in a world that has always had the internet. The one thing I could say about the online classes I have taken is that the teachers should be more active in the discussions. It has been my experience that the course content is all there but the ongoing feedback is still limited in many cases.

I think online courses can be developed to be self paced with no instructors at all. Everything can be designed to open up additional modules after successfully completing competency tests for each section. This would not be very hard to design and a minimal support staff could keep the operation running 24/7. I don't know that traditional colleges will go this route but it could work for things like ongoing business training.

markulous

Nersesian wrote: »

I'm sure former Polaroid employees bemoaned the rise of digital imaging and didn't see any value in emerging technology. They are now unemployed.
I'm sure current black market marijuana dealers are bemoaning the rise of legal marijuana sales and don't see the value in state sponsored sales. They will soon move to other markets.

As someone who has been (and still is successful) with online education, this is simply a change in the medium for delivery. The content has always been out there, but now its without overhead - parking fees, student fees, activity fees, lab fees, dorm fees, meal plan fees, administrative fees, loan payout fees, book fees. I would assume those who benefit from these fees would want to disregard the growth in a system that cuts them out of the profit distribution. For a long time, education was not significantly impacted by the open market which allowed its members to shield themselves from market fluctuations. The tenured faculty is starting to sweat and knows it won't be long before they are relegated to a research function exclusively.

This also means their support staff will be ass out when it comes to employment. It may not happen in my lifetime, but I can't wait until US students don't have the burden of debt tied to a higher level of education. A great example is Georgia Regents University in Augusta Georgia (formerly Augusta State University). The president is/was making around 600k a year with just over a 1 million severance package. I don't hate on the guy for getting paid, but its not unreasonable to draw a parallel between the debt students are taking on and the university staff's salary. I've heard from other students that their tuition keeps rising as the school builds new and "improved" facilities while reducing the benefits that impact students directly. (parking)

For anyone who has spent $40k+ on a traditional brick and mortar education, you understand how good the next generation is going to have it. I say burn this mother down.

Awesome post. I could not agree more.

the_Grinch

Having worked in higher ed I think I have a decent perspective on the issues.

1. Professors tend to be older and have been there for ever - This isn't picking on age per say, but many professors I have dealt with were very much set in their ways. They haven't touched a computer for their physical classes and want nothing to do with online. Many universities have required that they have either an online component or teach one class a term online. Thus your forcing someone who isn't interested in the medium to use it.

2. Many colleges "cut and paste" - A lot of schools have whole teams devoted to making online course content. Part of that process is taking pieces from other professors that fit into what the course is suppose to teach. As an example, I've seen cases where a security concept fits into another class and they take that clip then place it in the other class. Professors hate this and will work against when they can.

3. Grades are much higher online - Most of the professors who hate online classes hate them because people ****. In particular, I've seen numbers where when compared to the in person class the online class was 20 points higher (or higher). Now sure parts of that could be dedication and ability to learn whenever, but a good majority is just the fact that you can have your book open to answer questions.

Now this doesn't mean that the stigma of online classes with professors will stay forever. Each year you see professors retire and new ones coming in who had some form of online course along their road of education.

philz1982

the_Grinch wrote: »

3. Grades are much higher online - Most of the professors who hate online classes hate them because people ****. In particular, I've seen numbers where when compared to the in person class the online class was 20 points higher (or higher). Now sure parts of that could be dedication and ability to learn whenever, but a good majority is just the fact that you can have your book open to answer questions.

This is true, I am one who will openly admit to Googling answer's I didn't memorize for Online Quizes. That's why I am a big proponent of papers and exercises. In the real world, I memorize very little. Why memorize something I can Google in 5 seconds. In reality understanding the concept is best tested by essay's and practical hands on labs. Quizzes and test's are a waste of time unless they are essay questions. I will never hesitate to Google multiple choice quizzes because they are a waste of my time. I get near 100 on every essay I do and that reflects my mastery of the subject not some brute force memorization drill.

This is one of the big reasons I like DSU. You have to test out of your Master's with an Essay/practical based test or you don't get the degree.

Did I mention our education system is broken ....

Qord

As someone who currently works at a Community College, this is all no surprise. I see this all over, we’ve got 12 geographic locations and hear the same complaints from staff at every site: Faculty are hesitant to move even their grading system online. Our online class offerings keep growing in numbers, but it’s all new faculty that we’re bringing in, it’s not the older (longevity, not age) faculty taking classes online.

There’s definitely an age part to this though, it looks like the older a faculty member is, the less likely they are to accept an online component to their curriculum.