NO MORE COLLEGE--AS WE KNOW IT

[Boomer]

Just read an ad on T-Bine's News where you can get an MBA at LSUS in 12 months at a great price (ON LINE)----Don't have to leave your house I guess---Just wondering if the schools of the future will all be this way---you could actually have the greatest teachers in the world teaching everybody or you could have the ideology/philosophy teacher of your choice teaching your classes-----Oh and the football and sports teams could still recruit but once you have signed them it would be a fantasy game!!!

[CajunJack55]

I would assume more and more schools are heading this way for graduate programs and other programs geared toward working professionals and those with families and extemely busy lives for convenience reason and it probably saves the school money.

I've taken my share of online courses while I was in school and in my opinion it doesn't hold a candle to the a good classroom/lecture experience that is engaging. But everyone learns different. I just hope students will always have a choice for what works best for them.

I do not have any personal experience with the "for-profit" schools but for the most part I hear that most are a complete scam..way overpriced and most employers do not recognize them. Others may have more experience with this.

[ulXrunner]

I personally do not learn well with online stuff. I enjoy a classroom. That is why I decided to get my masters at UL, but guess what? Half the masters classes are online or hybrid.

[Boomer]

I personally do not learn well with online stuff. I enjoy a classroom. That is why I decided to get my masters at UL, but guess what? Half the masters classes are online or hybrid.

-----Could someone explain how an online course works??? Do you have to go to the school to get tested or write reports--How do they know it is actually your work being done??

[CajunJack55]

-Could someone explain how an online course works??? Do you have to go to the school to get tested or write reports--How do they know it is actually your work being done??

I have only taken undergrad courses and they are all different but basically you purchase the book, a professor post assignments online and most quizzes are done online. The professor will meet with you during his or her office hours if you are having questions but basically you do a lot of self-teaching. Then for the big tests you go to an actual classroom and take the test.

Also, you usually get all the classmates email and contact info if you need to exchange ideas, comments, questions etc...

[CajunsHat]

-Could someone explain how an online course works??? Do you have to go to the school to get tested or write reports--How do they know it is actually your work being done??

usually you have assignments to turn in (reports and such), just as you would in a typical traditional class...but testing is different for online classes...some classes use online testing at a testing center with a proctor and you are required to show identification to take the exam and you are monitored during the exam and you cannot bring anything with you during exam. however some schools let you take the test at your home while using a computer and a webcam monitors you, in this case the "proctor" is actually monitoring you and your computer using a webcam, so that way you cannot cheat or use the internet to cheat.

currently i go to a testing center for my exams...just me, a computer, a pencil/paper, and a human proctor monitoring me until i complete exam with in the allotted time frame.

[Boomer]

usually you have assignments to turn in (reports and such), just as you would in a typical traditional class...but testing is different for online classes...some classes use online testing at a testing center with a proctor and you are required to show identification to take the exam and you are monitored during the exam and you cannot bring anything with you during exam. however some schools let you take the test at your home while using a computer and a webcam monitors you, in this case the "proctor" is actually monitoring you and your computer using a webcam, so that way you cannot cheat or use the internet to cheat.

currently i go to a testing center for my exams...just me, a computer, a pencil/paper, and a human proctor monitoring me until i complete exam with in the allotted time frame.

---I am thinking "mission impossible" masks or twins to fool the screen---Maybe a trick camera to show the student but having someone else's fingers typing !!! Comes a long way since a certain player handed the test out of a back window to Blackjack who brought it to another player that answered the questions that BJ brought back through the window----Every time I see BJ's statue I think of something else he did for the program!!!! lol

[ulXrunner]

We have all assignments placed on Moodle that is connected to UL's ULink. We will only meet once this semester. One is a research class on KNES and the other is about Psychosocial Aspects of Sports. It's mostly reading and writing, and few PowerPoint presentations.

[Turbine]

http://online.louisiana.edu

[CajunsHat]

---I am thinking "mission impossible" masks or twins to fool the screen---Maybe a trick camera to show the student but having someone else's fingers typing !!! Comes a long way since a certain player handed the test out of a back window to Blackjack who brought it to another player that answered the questions that BJ brought back through the window

Every time I see BJ's statue I think of something else he did for the program!!!! lol

no,its not that simple boomer. when exams are taken at the student's own home, the webcam shows the student taking the exam and the proctor can actually see what is on the screen of the computer as well...the proctor has remote access to what is being displayed on the computer. Nursing schools are extremely hard on cheating (their national accreditation depends on it) and they would not allow such exams to be taken lightly or allow to be cheated on with such ease.

but aside from exams, most of the course work is research related reports.

undergrad courses online are much easier to have "work arounds" and such...but grad school is different depending on the degree program/college of study.

[njustice]

The value of a degree, particularly an MBA, comes from its market value and the network you make. Online MBAs will never be able to compete with the "traditional" method in either of these categories. Yes, I think we'll see this method become more popular, but it will never replace the current system.

[CajunsHat]

The value of a degree, particularly an MBA, comes from its market value and the network you make. Online MBAs will never be able to compete with the "traditional" method in either of these categories. Yes, I think we'll see this method become more popular, but it will never replace the current system.

an ex of mine, who finished second in her class at UL in accounting, was able to go through a fast track program through U-Conn and earned her Masters in Accountancy in 9 months (she met with her professors 1 time 1 week before the first semester started, then the rest was all online.) cost her over $20k in that time frame but she graduated UL and U-Conn (which is no slouch of a university) in the same year then got a job for a Big 4 accounting firm in houston...by the age of 22.

[njustice]

an ex of mine, who finished second in her class at UL in accounting, was able to go through a fast track program through U-Conn and earned her Masters in Accountancy in 9 months (she met with her professors 1 time 1 week before the first semester started, then the rest was all online.) cost her over $20k in that time frame but she graduated UL and U-Conn (which is no slouch of a university) in the same year then got a job for a Big 4 accounting firm in houston...by the age of 22.

I'm not saying that there won't be some overlap, and that there won't be exceptions. This will be particularly true in anything technical. Talent is talent, wherever you find it.

Going back to the MBA point though, there are lots of soft skills that need to be developed in a program like that, and an online degree just won't cut it.

[irokcj5]

There are some good challenging programs where one can learn a lot. However not being able to learn communication skills and argue your point with professors and classmates in real time and in person is a huge deficit that cannot be over come. I am currently engaged in online learning. Will it ever be as respected as a brick and mortor degree? Of course not. But it is better than not having a degree. Just like small colleges will not carry same weight and prestige of larger ones, and most state colleges not as much as Harvard and Yale or Oxford. So there are limits to the education you recieve at all levels of learning but any is better than none.

[njustice]

There are some good challenging programs where one can learn a lot. However not being able to learn communication skills and argue your point with professors and classmates in real time and in person is a huge deficit that cannot be over come. I am currently engaged in online learning. Will it ever be as respected as a brick and mortor degree? Of course not. But it is better than not having a degree. Just like small colleges will not carry same weight and prestige of larger ones, and most state colleges not as much as Harvard and Yale or Oxford. So there are limits to the education you recieve at all levels of learning but any is better than none.

I definitely agree. I wasn't meaning to say that online programs aren't useful and effective, because they are. I was just saying that it won't replace college as we know it because there will always be a market need for it.