In an Inside Higher Ed article titled “Equal Promises, Unequal Experiences,” author Carl Straumsheim brings the class action lawsuit now facing George Washington University to light. The article reveals that students who have taken online courses through GWU’s online degree program feel they have not received the quality of education promised them. Students claim that the materials posted were often cut off or blurry scans of textbooks and lecture slides without the commentary. They also say the faculty members assigned to advise students and teach through the online program were “consistently unresponsive.”
This article brings the discussions we have been having in our class to the front page. Are online programs working? Can they possibly be the future of higher education when they are having such a hard time becoming a part of the present? These classes have so much potential, yet from the experiences our own students have discussed to this article, online classes are falling short. The format seems to be the biggest issue. In both the article and our in-class discussions, students complain that course material is disconnected from knowledge. If the teaching methods of these courses improved beyond online texts and unresponsive professors, programs would likely have a much higher success rate.
The article reports that “a scheduling conference for the case is set for July 8.” It will be interesting to see what standards for online classes develop from court cases like this one.
I haven’t taken any online classes, but I am hesitant to do so for exactly this reason. Teachers who are grading online course work are probably thinking that “these students are only taking this class to fulfill a requirement.” Therefore, they are not likely to put too much effort into the course. While this is true to some degree, many people take online courses because it’s the only way they can fit college into their busy schedules. For this group of people, an option of “attending class” at 3 in them morning is a really fantastic opportunity. However, I don’t think telling teachers this will necessarily motivate them to put more effort into these course, so hybrid classes seem like the best option at this point if you want any kind of quality.
Touching on some other things we have talked about in class, this lack of high standards in a good amount of online courses may be due to the colleges/universities themselves trying to do everything all at once. These schools try to excel in athletics, academia, campus aesthetics, technology, and everything else, online courses included. As we’ve said in class before, a lot of schools spread themselves thin this way, making themselves like the Global Egrow (http://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/say-no-to-the-dress#.dp70z75qn) clothing of the education world.
I took one online class during Winter 2016, Principles of Management. I completely understand the stigma that people who take online classes may be looking for an easy way to get the credits, but it is also very plausible that online classes are better for those who don’t have enough time during the day for classes and commuting. However, I realized that the assumption that an online class is “easier” wasn’t true after taking the class. I had written homework due 2-3 times a week, which is a lot more than the amount of assignments I receive from classes that I attend on campus. My teacher would thoroughly grade the assignments on a 10-point scale, and would give thorough and detailed comments as to how the assignments could be improved in order to get the full 10 points. The only downside that I felt was that I had to buy a $180 textbook for a 4-week class. However, I won’t deny that the textbook has a lot of useful information that can be used in the future. The final I had to take for the class was a lot harder than I expected, but the teacher curved the grades accordingly, and I ended up doing well.
I may have gotten lucky with my first online class, my professor was very thorough with the work, feedback, and responding back to students. I can completely understand that not every professor is like this, but I have enough faith to take more online classes in the future.
I think it’s kind of sad that in today’s age we should even be having such problems with online classes. With all the innovative technology out there–and continuously being created–it’s a shame that universities resort to blurry scans of textbook pages and unresponsive professors. Maggie, you are right in pointing out the format as being the biggest issue. Like we said in class last week, obviously not all courses can be transferrable to online, but many can. Online classes should not just be giving out the same reading material you would have in a regular class but just not showing up to a classroom; there is so much potential to build something great, and unique, with a digital formats. I look forward to seeing what the innovators can do with higher ed-focused technology in the coming years.
Also, I like the title wordplay. 🙂
I am not going to defend bad on-line classes, as no reputable institution should have their names and reputations associated with this type of fast-profit form of teaching. They deserve to be skewered. The only thing I will add is that we also have a lot of problems with off-line classes not being that useful either – see, e.g., Chris Cali’s recent post on why college teachers should have training in how to teach effectively.