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Sunday, October 30, 2011

UT Senior Leadership Team Group Photograph

Most Definitely a Classic Case of a Trick Rather than a Treat

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloggie - you forgot to add the name tags :-)

Not to keep beating the same drum, but I think this is VERY important for the future of UT, Toledo and America:

If the U. S. would put together a free quality online education system like the one I outlined in my earlier post, we could reclaim an entire generation of lost education in 5 years, reboot our nation’s innovative competitive edge, create a super-abundance of flexible, user-friendly, family friendly, online 21st century jobs for teachers, professors and lot's of other people as well - and propel our nation's economy forward at warp speed.

THIS would provide a HUGE AND SUSTAINABLE positive revenue stream that could make the finer things in life we all want more economically feasible and affordable for everyone - like the freedom to design our own work schedule and live and travel wherever we want while still retaining a satisfying and well-paying online job, affordable healthcare, home ownership, arts and leisure, etc.

See my earlier post for the details: DISTANCE LEARNING WILL SOON RULE THE WORLD NO MATTER WHAT ACADEMICS OR ANYONE ELSE MAY THINK, SAY, DO OR WANT

It's under the Lessons to be Learned thread.

Anonymous said...

What you already described exists - the University of Phoenix - and the market (students and employers) have already decided that it is not credible (and it is largely free to most students as 95% of their revenue comes from student federal loans). Online education, including degrees have existed for over a decade. Yet they still can not replace the quality and type of teaching needed to entirely train and educate students in the majority of programs and degrees. The vast majority of students and employers want the skills and lessons only face to face learning can provide for most degrees. Online learning can simply not provide the skill sets required to educate and train most of the future professionals. Online has a place and role, but will not replace face to face education and learning in this country or world.

Magua said...

To: "Not to keep beating the same drum"

From: The tenant downstairs.

YaddaYaddaYaddaBlahBlahBlah.
Enuf Already.
The horse,
she's dead.

Anonymous said...

Ask any business if they would prefer to hire a graduate from an online university vs a non virtual university. I know I look at this to decide whether it is a real degree or not. Virtual degree holders virtually never get the job.

Anonymous said...

Aww, come on, don't be mean to pumpkins. They're cute.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:28

The anti-online face-to-face teaching arguments are traditional brick and mortar and teacher’s union dogma.

Contact someone in the online ed loop and have them email you some links and references. Get up to speed and you’ll see where you’re wrong.

Virtually ALL universities including the Ivies and everyone else are on board with online ed because they know it’s at least as good or better than classroom ed in every meaningful way.

Britain’s online Open University has ranked right alongside Oxford and Cambridge in quality, satisfaction of students and faculty and academic outcomes.

The University of Phoenix only represents a template for certain aspects of what I’m talking about.

What UP does demonstrate is that it’s possible to deliver first-rate online education and not only be self-sustaining but actually make a profit.

I’m saying we can and should offer a free national online university that provides EVERYTHING EVERYBODY CLAIMS TO WANT - universal access to top quality education from K-PhD and unlimited individualized attention for students of all aptitudes (read WOMEN AND MINORITIES and other disadvantaged and “under-represented” groups) while being MUCH better, MUCH cheaper, MUCH more convenient and flexible and MUCH faster and more efficient -- HUGE economies of scale, no commuting – no campus infrastructure, no bullshit time-wasting classroom distractions, filler and fluff, no waiting days for the next class period, no redundancy, no mediocrity, no irrelevancy – etc. etc.

Current public, private or for-profit ed has little interest in providing all this for free to students because they can't see anything in it for them (i.e. teachers, professors, administrators, for profit stockholders etc.).

There actually can be something very good in the new paradigm for the folks who are actually providing the real nutritious meat and potatoes of education - the best and brightest teachers and scholars and researchers.

As for the cling-ons, deadbeats and bureaucrats... well, they need to be re-assigned to meaningful positions, but they will actually be much more satisfied doing something meaningful than just treading water in their current Kafkaesque cubicle hells.

We need some actual idealists with big bucks and big clout who are willing to act selflessly on behalf of the public good to bring this free national online university into existence.

People like Bill and Melinda Gates and Oprah and the folks at Amazon, Google, Facebook etc. etc. have the power and money and know-how – but they need some heavy hitters with vision and courage from the Washington, Wall Street, Hollywood, Media, Academia vortex to convince them it is a good thing.

Does anyone reading this blog qualify??

Anon 6:33

Tenant downstairs – keep singing your cute little song while that online education “dead horse” eats your lunch.

Anonymous said...

"What UP does demonstrate is that it’s possible to deliver first-rate online education and not only be self-sustaining but actually make a profit."

UP makes its profit off the back of federal student loans which represent the vast majority of their income. They only offer very selective degrees and programs that attract retraining opportunities in very limited fields and to the segment of society that relies on student loans. Does this remind you at all of the housing crisis?? They are not the solution you are suggesting, they are the problem you are concerned about

"I’m saying we can and should offer a free national online university that provides EVERYTHING EVERYBODY CLAIMS TO WANT"

No service is free, so who is going to pay for a national online university? Students? Federal and state student loans? The private sector and investors are not interested in providing something for free, but for profit. An no online university can provide the diverse and complex range of degrees, skills, education and training students require and employers are demanding. Online universities and courses can fill a selective niche market, but not all the degrees needed in our society.