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.
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.
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.
