Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The University of California and online degrees

UC professors raise doubts about online degree plan (Sacramento Bee)

     The University of California's interest in offering an online degree is opening a new chapter in the debate over online education.
     Many professors question whether the state's premier university system should tread so deeply into cyberspace, where other prestigious universities have failed – and where some less selective colleges have thrived, sometimes with programs of questionable quality.
     The professors are concerned that a virtual UC will waste limited resources, compromise the university's academic reputation and divert it from its primary mission of educating California's top-performing students.
     The plan's creator – Christopher Edley, dean of UC Berkeley's law school – says the opposite is true. He contends UC can maintain its rigor online and that doing so will allow the university to reach more of those stellar students at a lower cost.
     …Edley acknowledges his biggest hurdle is getting buy-in from UC's academic senate, the formal voice of the faculty. Their support is critical to any major educational changes….
     Edley envisions steadily expanding UC's Web presence: adding upper-division courses, then offering a bachelor's degree online, and eventually allowing people around the world to enroll in the virtual UC.…
. . .
     Not so fast, say many UC profs.
     "Are we in the business of making money by selling services to non-students?" asked Dan Simmons, a UC Davis law professor who is vice-chair of the statewide academic senate. "People have created a set of expectations about the potential for online education that is not really there."
     Even professors who support a greater use of technology say the plan has flaws. Some like the idea of expanding online offerings, but don't think UC should offer an online degree. Others think online curriculum should be developed and controlled by academic departments on each campus – not by UC's statewide bureaucracy.
"I think they're looking for a one-size-fits-all model, and I don't think that's the way to go," said Cynthia Carter Ching, a UC Davis education professor.
. . .
     UC Davis professor Robert Blake uses live video chats to teach Spanish. The videoconferencing software allows students to break into small groups and practice their language skills.
     "We're dealing with students more and more who are very used to social computing. They're used to getting online and doing projects together," Blake said.
     He is developing Arabic and Punjabi classes that will be available online to UC students across the state. Still, he's not sure UC should rush into offering an online degree.
     "Fortunately, the University of California has a governance structure that will allow the faculty to determine what is the appropriate way to mix these things," Blake said.
     "I trust my colleagues to put on the brakes at the right time, and also stick their noses out and experiment."

No comments:

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...