Only a third of the "online" institutions he’s taught for grant academic freedom

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Another Kind of Academic Career Path (Inside Higher Ed)

     Some people think they’re qualified to teach online courses because they know how to use e-mail, but there's a lot more instructors need to master to run a Web classroom, a longtime trainer of new instructors said Thursday in a presentation at the American Association of University Professors conference meeting here this week. ¶ “They don’t know how to use Word, they don’t know how to use Excel,” said Bob Barrett, a professor at the American Public University System who has trained online instructors at several institutions. “Statistics on a computer? ‘No, I’ve always done them on paper.' "
     As many brick-and-mortar colleges shed untenured teaching staff, and online programs – especially those run by for-profit institutions – continue to hire, teaching in a virtual setting is becoming the new reality for many more academics. Thursday's presentation was one of several on online education at this year's AAUP meeting.. . .
     Barrett acknowledged that some instructors are irritated by the regimentation, but audience members pushed harder. Protecting academic freedom is, after all, one of the AAUP’s core missions. “How do you observe academic freedom for someone who’s teaching online?” one woman asked.
     Barrett said that only a third of the online institutions he’s taught for grant instructors academic freedom. “The rest are, you go by the instruction modules that are given, do not deviate from them. They have people who will come in and look at what you’re doing, will look at what you’re introducing, will comment on things that are a little bit different.” A few attendees shook their head in dismay.

Gosh, I think I see the future, and it ain't good.

High-School Graduation Rates Dip Slightly for Second Straight Year

     An annual report, published today by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, shows that high-school graduation rates dipped slightly for the Class of 2007. Only 68.8 percent of students who started as ninth graders in the 2003-4 academic year had graduated four years later, according to the report, "Diplomas Count 2010: Graduation by the Numbers -- Putting Data to Work for Student Success." That's down slightly from 69.2 percent for the previous high-school class and marks the second year of decline in the national graduation rate.

OK, this cannot be good!