The Other 85 Percent

William J McKibbin PhD Says:

The creation of an Office of Consumer Protection in Higher Education is an excellent idea, and past due. Given the new economy and the realities of globalization, there is a greater need than ever for higher education to be more inclusive, transparent, and inventive. More “sunshine” can only help. More at: http://wjmc.blogspot.com/2009/05/future-of-enterprise.html

December 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

The Center for American Progress’ Call for a U.S. Office of Consumer Protection in Higher Education Says:

[...] hat tip to Michael Offerman at The Other 85 Percent for drawing my attention to a report last month from the Center for American Progress entitled [...]

December 18th, 2009 at 3:20 pm

Bob Roan Says:

The idea of protecting students is good, but I think the idea of students as education consumers is flawed and makes me agree with the NAICU that “it’s hard to see how adding a layer of bureaucracy will improve anything.”

The real consumer of most education is the employer. The student doesn’t really care about, say, computer networking and certainly isn’t going to consume it. They’re going to bring it to the workplace and let the demands of the job consume it.

So instead of colleges providing more information for students to wade through, I think forward thinking educational organizations should start working with forward thinking businesses to figure out exactly what kind of education businesses value the most.

This would probably not be a pretty sight, since we might discover that for many of their employees, businesses would prefer scalable on-demand knowledge that solves workplace problems as they occur and may not even be that enamored with degree programs when they think about it.

December 26th, 2009 at 2:18 pm

Sid Vineburg Says:

As with many things, there are professionals in higher education who understand that the “genie” can not be put back into the bottle. Accredited online education obviously fulfills a need for thousands of adults who could not enter a traditional program because of family and career obligations.

However, there are still many in academe who are trying to maintain the status quo and do not want ideological changes in education..whether it is with our children or in higher education. Any idea, good or bad, that moves towards the advancement of education through technology brings both fear and resentment.

December 27th, 2009 at 6:50 pm

Robert Wainscott Says:

In my opinion, the call for accountability is directly on point for both DL and B/M institutions. Employers may be one consumer in the value chain, but overall the student is paying for the perceived value of the education. In earnest, employers only give as much credibility to an academic program as the academy voice at large will allow. That said, many students have personally experienced the large void in what on-line learning could be and what it currently is. The move to maintain the status quo is well taken as it is a direct threat to the traditional academic establishment. As the previous poster noted, accredited on-line education fills a void that traditional brick and mortar institutions have yet to truly tackle. However, on-line institutions must not rest on their laurels. Numerous institutions with which I have been associated consistently fail to provide a tangible value stream for students. For an adjunct to simply hand out a syllabus and provide a grade for an assignment is to miss the mark. Students can read professional journals on their own time. They are paying for joint collaboration among their academic peers and the professorship. The morning of on-line education is undoubtedly here, but the responsibility for an increased level of acceptance in the academy rest just as much on our own shoulders as it does that of our brick and mortar brothers and sisters. Enhanced accountability (transparency) might just be the boost we need.

January 2nd, 2010 at 10:38 am

Nnamdi Says:

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”- Richard Buckminster Fuller

I liken the quote above to the old VHS versus Beta Max competitive rivalry. While Beta Max was the superior video recording product, VHS won by virtue of being the industry standard and most widely accepted video recording format. That lasted until the introduction of CD ROM.

While there is a merit to Louis Soares’ idea, the proponents of this idea do not have the wherewithal to actualize the dream. The current practices will prevail. Capella’s strategy should be to bridge the difference in the perception between a pure-play online university and a brick and mortar, while capitalizing on being flexible and responsive to the needs of the consumers (learners / students).

University of London, though a brick and mortar, has done an excellent job of catering to the distance educational (prior to advent of Internet) needs of students longer than any institution. Perhaps, the distinctiveness and success of an online university reside in bridging the divergent perception between online and classroom education, convergence with traditional institution spheres of influence (acceptability, employment – online graduate, accreditations – like AACSB, etc.) and use of technology as a competitive tool.

January 4th, 2010 at 2:27 am

Mike Offerman Says:

Thanks to each of you for your comments. I have enjoyed reading your thoughts and watching the progression of ideas. Some good thoughts and much appreciation for your sharing them.

Mike

January 6th, 2010 at 12:46 pm