Category: Week 2: Feb 10

1. How does society and the industry decide what major/degree is more acceptable/professional/certified over other majors?
2. How can we stop the diminishing value of the bachelor’s and master’s degree? Is there a possibility of a new degree being created that is better than a doctorate degree?
3. Higher education seems to be focusing on making money and prioritizing that over actual student education, how can this be changed? Prioritizing actual student education would help society in the long run.
4. It is stated that building a law school saves a lot of costs over building a medical school, therefore creating a subtle bias between the two. Is there a way to remove this bias?
5. How can the issue of “over-qualification” with multiple majors be fixed?

Do you think that there are any positives to treating colleges and universities and businesses?

 

Do you agree with Selingo when he says that the Millennials are part of the “Me Generation?”

 

As a student I don’t believe that the teachers owe the student anything just because the student pays an exorbitant rate. I believe that the student should be performing well because they are paying so much money. Do you agree?

 

Do you feel Macaulay as program diverges from the whole “college as a business” mantra because all students are given full scholarships?

 

Do you think Macaulay is better suited for education because it’s free?

1. What are some of the ways new systems could be created that would allow for “certificates,” from online courses, to count as “credits” towards college?  Or towards earning any sort of crendtial?
2. Online classes revolve around the idea of more avalability for people looking to get a higher education.  But it seems that it would be more avaliable for those who own a computer and those who are able to get internet acess for these courses.  There are resources such as public libraries where students can get both a computer and intenet acess needed for the class; but it would seem that this turns the idea of avalability on its head and reduce the problem of “not being able to get to campus” to, “not being able to get to a computer with wifi.”  With this in mind, do online courses favor those who have the resources to acquire laptops, home computers, wifi data, etc.?
3. The on-going debate between whether in class lecture, or online courses are more useful, is more prevalent than ever.  But would not the simple answer be to offer both options?  Although one may be objectivley better, the prefrance of one way of learning over another is soley up to the individual.
4. How does the offering of online courses both promote as well as hinder the agenda of higher educational institutions when interpreting these institutions to be businesses?  I see the implmentation of online courses, as a whole, to many educationl facillities, at once, more as a draw back for the business aspect of the insitution.
5. “The Open Learning Initiative” at Carnagie Mellon is a perfect example of how online courses mkae it much easier to pin-point the problmes classes face when trying to learn ceratain material in a specific course.  How can this example be used literally and as a metaphor to sum up some of the more major issues with higher education as we know it?

1. This chapter begins by introducing StraighterLine, a rationally priced, online educating institution that doesn’t offer degrees. Jose Brown was only 6 math credits away from completing his general education requirements at George Washington University, so he takes these classes online and his school accepts the credits without an issue. When most people go to college, they dread taking their core classes. Would it be ideal for these types of people to take their general education classes through institutions like StraighterLine, so that when they attend their main college they can focus solely on their major?
2. Selingo raises an interesting issue about the pricing of online classes. Burck Smith, the creator of StraighterLine, is bothered by the system in that “traditional universities and for-profit colleges typically charge the same price for online courses as they do for face-to-face versions, even though the online format is much less expensive to produce [79].” StraighterLines tuition only costs $99 for a month of classes! Many students can agree that an online class doesn’t leave as much impact and isn’t as rewarding as an in-person class. Therefore, the cost for online classes should be less than in-person classes.
3. The process of transferring credits between two institutions is also an issue. Colleges are reluctant in accepting credits from StraighterLine courses simply because if they offer a similar course, they’d be missing out on revenue. This shows how the business aspect of higher education can be unfair to students.
4. Selling makes a very interesting point when he suggests, “Degrees should be based on how much students know, not how much time they spend in a classroom [84].” Most colleges dwell on this tradition of the credit system, but knowledge should not be measured this way. The Competency-model is much more sensible in that it grants a degree to a student who earns the mastery of  the subject through a series of assessment tests and allows them to go at their own pace.
5. The story of Mike Russo and his ability to receive college credits for his life experiences was very interesting. It’s great how colleges can look beyond the college classroom experience and accredit students for other learning opportunities.

1. Why isn’t there some clear cut financial aid counseling that provides first generation college students the knowledge needed to avoid these tremendous tuition debts? Especially because it’s a widely known issue.
2. Non Ivy league college graduates are in more debt than Ivy League graduates.
3. States are shortening funds going to colleges, which leads to colleges having higher tuition rates, along with a somewhat raise in financial aid (making the situation no better).
4. Future college students are picking their colleges for wrong reasons (On emotion or just for it’s looks, rather than the price and quality of education).
5. It is true that going to college and getting a degree is a must, but when tuition prices become extremely high, is it really worth it in the end? Getting in financial debt in order to get that degree, with that high possibility of not even getting a job at the end to pay off that debt?

1. Are adjunct professors beneficial or detrimental to a students supposed “consumer” experience?
2. Is there any data to confirm the existence of the “Me Generation”?
3. To what extent are consumer economics applied to higher education? Specifically Selingo’s example of large private colleges “fudging the numbers”?
4. How does this sense of entitlement manifest in the professional world?
5. Although many are opposed to the idea that college is now a business does this new model create a better or worse environment for students?

1. Is it a good idea to do as Altucher, who attended Cornell, advised and to invest tuition money on a business or some other venture as a replacement for attending college?
2. Are some students just sent off to college because their families don’t know where to put them? Are some people in college just because that’s the only path option they are aware of, even though they don’t think college is suited for them?
3. What do you think about programs that involve students getting credits for on-site work that they do? There was mention of companies that educate their workers through processes like boot camps. Do you think that is an efficient way to teach them what they know instead of them having to go to school to learn that?
4. Is taking a year off in between college and high school a smart decision or wasteful? Is it good because people get worldly experiences, or is it bad because money just gets spent on expensive trips?
5. Is higher education stuck in a vicious cycle due to the education gap, whereas people from higher income families have more of an ability to attend selective colleges, which can lead them to becoming rich as well and sending their children off to selective colleges as well?

Despite the administrative/business aspect of the higher education system, should universities view students as customers, utilizing degree programs and on-campus amenities as marketing tools?

Do you believe there is a corporate-like system within higher-level institutions? If so does is play a positive or negative affect in your experience?

Given the decline in the bachelor’s degree’s significance in today’s society, should undergraduate degrees be accessible to everyone, regardless of academic performance?

Should colleges provide customizable curriculums to suit the convenience of the students? If so, would it enhance the overall educational experience?

Education today has become more competitive than it has ever been. Institutions constantly compete for prestige and financial capital. Many individuals are also unaware of the criteria utilized by academic news reporters to assess the quality of the institution. Could university rankings by media outlets such as U.S News be detrimental to the public’s general knowledge of a ‘good’ college?

1. Will the trend of higher education being treated as a business continue? If so, what advancements or setbacks would be caused by a business model for higher education? Are there any alternatives or possibilities to replace the current system?
2. Will the trend of “credential creep” lead to a more educated populace overall?
3. Does consumerist education, in your opinion, affect your learning as a student? If so, to what extent?
4. Would the mass opening of new graduate institutions like the one in Texas lower the overall quality of a graduate education or improve it? How? Why is this a concern?
5. Are there any viable alternatives to the U.S. News and World Report rankings system?

1) How do we (as a society) discover those “diamond in the rough” individuals who cannot afford any tuition nor have the ability to physically access higher education?

2) Online classes help people develop (and get certified for) very specific skills while living a busy life.

3) But how do you regulate cheating on online exams?

4) Online intro classes would really save students and professors a lot of time and energy.

5) Why isn’t there more research going into education and the best ways to educate people of all ages?

6) Why do students who live on campus really want to take online/mixed-mode classes? Flexibility?

7) I feel like online classes have a stereotype of being “inferior.” Do you feel like this stereotype is real?

8) Online classes accommodate more for different types of learners?