Comments (13)

1. 

   sourwoodtom

   For some subjects, online education makes sense. For others, it does not. I'm not sure that I want the surgical assistant helping the MD remove my gall bladder to have received her education online.

   Subjects heavy on lab content (Mechanical Engineering Technology, Civil Engineering, AHR, Electronics, etc.) cannot be easily moved online.

   When I studied math, I asked questions: "Whoa, what did you do there? Can you please show me how you got from point A to point B?". My students currently taking Math online wait hours or days to get answers to questions. Only the best can succeed in an online Math class.

   Maybe those of you who offer courses in "book reading" (English, Humanities, PoliSci, etc.) can supplant lecture with online assignments/discussions, but the technical programs and subjects need a teacher. Especially for an adult population that might not have seen the inside of a classroom for 20 years. I'm not belittling liberal arts (a well-rounded, well-read graduate is part of any education), but academic subjects can be very different, and no one-size-fits-all approach exists.

   Additionally, at our college, the move to online has not been to make education more accessible, but rather to make it cheaper to deliver. Our faculty, who may have 20 - 25 students in a traditional classroom are now forced to have 50+ students in their online sections - with no additional help or salary. All the college needs to provide is a teacher, a computer, and someone to collect tuition.

   2 years ago

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2. 

   Community Member

   As a working adult that would like to futher her education this makes total sense. Not for everyone or all cases.

   Just to have all the information under one site will help everyone searching for the right school.

   This is a wonderful idea that will help thoudsands of people that are looking to go back to school.

   2 years ago

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3. 

   maria.garriga

   Online classes make education more accessible to people lacking transportation or with limited time.

   Community colleges are one of our nation's best investments, but they need to keep costs down to make education affordable. This means they often skip heavy advertising. When people go online to search classes available on the Internet, they get bombarded with ads from for-profit schools lacking accreditation that charge enormous sums.

   I'm voting in favor of this project because it will strengthen our nation's infrastructure by helping people quickly find what they need -- affordable, accredited education.

   2 years ago

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4. 

   stereooverdose

   As part of what people call the “millennial” generation, I believe this idea will not only give us better access to educational opportunities, but also has the potential to augment the current offerings of traditional universities. For example, my liberal arts college lacked a sufficient number of marketing related courses that I could’ve benefitted from. While I can’t speak on behalf of older, working adults that will use this….. The younger “Facebook generation” has only known a world with internet and something like this will come naturally to us.

   2 years ago

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5. 

   lpatrickdail

   I have worked in the community college environment for 11 yrs now; my concentration has been short-term certificates which build state-of-the-market competencies and typically align with a nationally or globally recognized credential. When building new training programs we work closely with advisory boards of employers, hiring managers and subject matter experts to define the skills employees need to perform effectively in the role on day #1. In an ironic twist, the proprietary for-profit training schools in our region are typically an important marketing source for our programs; every week adult learners register for our programs because their original for profit choice just didn't provide them with cutting-edge content, up-to-date equipment, talented instructors, attentive customer service or the overall quality learning environment they expected. Sadly, these schools typically charge 2 to 3 times what we do, but the learners assume the higher price tag will guarantee better instruction, equipment to learn on, etc. Our adult learners are generally between the ages of 28-52, probably married, probably have children at home to support, and are either unemployed, under employed or focused on career advancement within their chosen field. Affordability is a primary challenge for adult learners with a range of domenstic responsibilities, and community college programs accross the board are more cost effective (cheaper) and of higher quality. When students complete our programs, they go to work within a month because we have solid relationships with the employer community, while our for profit "competitors" just gives graduates a list of job fairs in the region. Just as importantly, our graduates retain their new jobs because they know what they're doing and their new employers are pleased with their performance. I'm proud of the work we do in the City University of New York system, just as proud as I was to work with the Community College of Baltimore County (Maryland). Regretably, although we have a great story to tell, we just don't spend enough $$ to get our story out there. Patrick Dail, Continuing Education & Workforce Development

   2 years ago

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6. 

   Community Member

   This effort would allow the thousands of community colleges to compete with the for-profits who charge outrageous tuition. This would help students graduate with much less debt.

   It would also bring some quality standards for online education to those community colleges that want to participate in this initiative.

   2 years ago

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7. 

   Tina

   As a librarian who supports students in online and hybrid classes, I think this is a great idea. The colleges need to do a better job, however, of providing technical support to the many students who have little or no skill set for using computers or online environments. They are using the electronic course management systems like Blackboard and the students come to the library asking for help in learning to navigate the CMS. For many colleges, this is a question of funding. Where to find the money to hire more technical support for the users with very low technical skill sets. Sometimes the student's only option is an online class and they struggle with the technology.

   2 years ago

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8. 

   colette.apelian

   As an online instructor, I also agree this is a great idea. In California, we have a similar website, only it allows university students to figure out what community college courses they can transfer to their schools. The website is http://www.assist.org/web-assist/welcome.html . Perhaps it can provide a model for your idea?

   2 years ago

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9. 

   Community Member

   I attended community college for both of my degrees, and I received a higher degree from an online college. Both have important contributions to make, but both are not for all students or all program degrees. I can see a graphics design degree being offered on line, but I can not see a registered nurse degree offered on line.As more students become familiar with computers they may want more offerings on line and I believe that some classes can be given that way effectively. However, I also see that some classes will need to be in person so a particular point, or procedure can be viewed and practiced under guidance. I think a combination of teaching methods works best for all students. We need to think about how students learn best (hands-on, listening, practicing, reading, etc.)

   2 years ago

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10. 

    jtsizemore

    Online is not a panacea. As some people have said some subjects (engineering, sciences, surgical technology, etc.) can't be taught online - or at least not without significant alteration to the current online model. I agree with this perspective. Students say they strongly favor online, but with degree mills thrown in the learning outcomes just are not there. Some employers and graduate schools simply don't recognize Phoenix University degrees for example. The public and students want online, however thus far it has not delivered especially in STEM fields.

    2 years ago

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11. 

    Community Member

    I think this is a great idea. As was mentioned the for-profits spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The community colleges are more focused on student needs to spend that kind of money on advertising. This will give us the opportunity to pool our resources and get the word out when students in the millenial generation do searches online. It will also allow us to develop some service standards that our students can expect to receive when they enroll online.

    BTW, our college developed an online nursing degree but was forced to abandon it when the 2-year accrediting body did not like our using part-time instructors with a full-time faculty member overseeing the program. We also have online dental assisting and are looking at other allied health programs. It can be done.

    2 years ago

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12. 

    rrobertson

    I agree with those who have suggested that education ought not to be a business, especially a dog-eat-dog business.

    These aren't factories, you know--and students aren't smart shoppers. A fair chunk of of current problems with education lies in the fantasy that the holy "marketplace," will magically solve everything.

    As with buying insurance across State lines in an unregulated marketplace--and the comment directly above this bears this out--what you're going to end up with is the cheapest, lowest "product," possible.

    In other words, WalMart. I think I'd really rather not have somebody from an online hygenist progrram working inside my gums with sharp tools.

    2 years ago

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13. 

    Community Member

    This needs to happen. This is the type of idea that should come out of this exercise. This is something way overdue, and it is about affordability on a national basis with something that we already have in community colleges. This looks like it would be simple and not too costly to implement. Lets just do it. As to the last comment posted, I would ask what massive rock the writer has been sleeping under the last ten years? don't they realize that online education is already thriving in all of our schools, and our children will make sure that it continues to be a growing choice? For many of them, it is their preferred choice. As for the comment about his dental hygienist, I wonder if he would also be the type to check whether that worker got her degree at a community college or at a unversity. My suggestion would be to get up from under that massive rock he or she has been under, and pay more attention to the online ratings left on that hygienist in online dental office's customer rating sites, not where she or he got their degree. Lets do this.

    2 years ago

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