I’m back with another blog but I just had to share this article by Selingo (not posted on this week’s Higher Ed or readings) with everyone, curtesy of professor Hainline. During our earlier class discussions, we questioned the college model and why students have to attend for four years, straight out of highschool. Well, apparently it doesn’t always have to be this way. In this article, Selingo introduces Stanford’s new “open loop university” model which basically allows for a personalized and ultimately more effective education for students. Under the model, students would be able to chose when they are ready to attend college, whether it be at age 18 or even 26. Miriam posted a blog about the three types of students (the sprinter, wanderer and strangler) and I agreed that one of the issue is that some college students aren’t ready to go attend college straight out of high school. Though college does provide the time for them to discover their passions and interests and mature into adults, in some cases such as with the stranglers, it may not be the best idea. Going back onto the Open Loop system, students could rearrange the 6 year program time frame however they want so that they could break in between to work in Silicon Valley startup jobs for a year or so and if they want to “loop” back in and explore something new, students could do seamlessly.
The new model would also incorporate enriching changes to the traditional classroom (like we discussed in class) such as free open online courses and other outside-the-classroom skill building courses to supplement lessons taught (like how we wanted some of the general education requirements to be focused more on “useful” applications like financial literacy and developing excel/Microsoft skills etc). Students would no longer be fixated to a strict immobile structure of traditional higher education but instead be free to personalize their college experience to be just the right pace for them. The open loop university model is definitely very promising and really brightens the future of higher ed. What do you guys think?
Article link: http://www.ecampusnews.com/mcclatchy/beyond-4-degree/
Wow! This higher education model really sounds fantastic. The current four-year model is really not a one size fits all and it often doesn’t give students the time to develop the practical skills they need to become successful employees. That said, I don’t think that it’s very responsible to completely lift the pressure of attending college and let high school graduates decide to go when they’re ready. I think there needs to be some kind of concrete plan. For instance, I will work for a year, study abroad the following year and then go to college. I think just moving with the wind might have major adverse effects on the kid later on and I’m skeptical that these kids will have the drive or the time to start college at 26 (although I know it does happen.)