Will online education replace the Ivy League?

In Silicon Valley, two of the community colleges and the Library Science program at San Jose State offer extensive on-line classes. The biggest problem is not whether the classes are considered legitimate to future employers. They are legitimate. The biggest problem is whether you'll be able to recognize your professor if you met him at a conference 6 months later, and whether you'll be able to stay in contact with with classmates that you've never seen. The technology is there for exchanging information so that you can learn the material. But it is not there for social interaction and connection.

Definitely a complex situation... I agree with the advantages that the author mentions, however, I think there are another issues to consider as well, like social aspects of a kid educated just online vs. a kid educated in the regual way...

http://www.welcometoguatemala.wordpress.com

I would be wary of online colleges especially since many aren't accredited and like someone else said your credits don't always transfer. Especially when pursuing post grad education some professions don't accept them. ( My best friend went to U of Phoenix in social work and because it didn't offer a practicum he's stuck with a Masters that can't do anything for him)

I think young people need the college on campus experience. It teaches them to be independent, even if just for a year. My sister in law's friend has decided that after a year she really doesn't know what she wants to do, so she quit the 4yr university she was attending rather than wasting money.

Overall, online isn't for everyone and I'm tired of Ivy League's getting all the hoopla.

Fools_and_sages--- I do NOT CLAIM anything. I just simply did NOT miss anything. Of course I grew up not needing to join a group, be hazed into anything, or spend my time fighting for the attention of college boys. I went to college in order to learn and that's what I did. As for your other statement, you are wrong! You should spend more time researching online colleges before you assume none of them offer practicums, advisement or career counseling. Oh, and some of them do actually have a campus location where you have to come to do a residency program too. Do your research next time.

As for transfer credits, if you go to a campus school that is not regionally accredited, most regionally accredited universities will not take those credits. So if you did your BA at a nationally accredited university and then tried to start your MA at a regionally accredited one, the schoool (and I have seen this happen) can deny you entry into the MA based on the fact that they do NOT recognize your undergrad degree. If you're in graduate studies and trying to transfer you must realize that not every school will take your credits no matter what school you attended. I know at the university I worked for they had a six credit max transfer into a graudate program and those six credits had to come from 1. a regionally accredited university/college; and 2. be identical to their classes. In other words, if they didn't think the course work in your business ethics class at one university lined up with their business ethics course, you'd find yourself taking business ethics again.

Cortney---you are right. If your friend goes to a school for a psych degree and does not have a practicum then the school is most likely not APA approved for the program and depending on the state they live in they will have a problem with licensure. As far as I know, no online school as APA for their psych programs. I have been out of the loop on psych related issues for the last year and a lot can change in that time so I won't say that is still the case. Of course, depending on your friend's goals with that degree there are still things that can be done, i.e. Industrial/Organizational psychology. You do not need to license for this, but you will need to be able to carry your education over to the corporate world. I can't speak for UOP as I have never worked for them nor attended their school. I have met people who have gone through their programs and are employed in high positions within their company. I don't know how much of that was education and how much was hard work...If your friend's goal was to practice as a psychologist then he/she should have done research on the state requirements for licensure before attending school, so that he/she could be sure the school met the guidelines. Going to a ground campus usually alleviates some of this as usually they are APA approved and meet their state licensure requirements. The best thing is to Research and learn for yourself what is best for you.

I agree... Online classes aren't for everyone... especially if you aren't disciplined in the first place... I have tried a few online classes and really didn't finish them... I did a lot better in a formal classroom... And honestly, I don't know a person that didn't go to MIT because they couldn't afford it (I know quite a few people that went there)... I know plenty of Middle Class people that went because they got bookus of grants and scholarships to go and got out with few student loans than I did... and I went to a state university...

And to add to some of the others comments... an Online degree wouldn't be able to provide a hands on environment in a lot of areas where you need real lab time or real teacher-student time...

I do have to say one thing though.. MIT OpenCourseware ROCKS... especially if you have a crappy Calculus professor and you need some clearification...

I believe most students will want the college/university experience. I think parents and children will need to be realistic on how much college they can afford. I started at a community college and received my Associate's degree and then finished up at a four year college with my bachelor's degree. I am considering retraining by taking some online courses so it's a great opportunity for me. Great post!

I have a friend who went to Walden University. She loved it and she checked it out to make sure it was an accredited school and she could go at her on pace. She did well and finished in about 3 years. she got a job offers in a new field before she even finished. So, not all online education is bad or useless.

On line education is not the learning format for everyone and 'plans for accreditation' schools are a big risk in terms of future transfer of credits (as in, they DON'T).

Don't be seduced by slick advertising budgets of proprietary schools who are more than willing to enroll you in their courses/program (and often hound you until you do so) and then don't care what happens after your tuition is paid. I worked for one and left when the campus director told me the most important admission criteria was if a person could pay their tuition.

Schools that have solid and long term academic credentials in offering bricks and mortar courses are often successful in offering courses in the online format. (Hello, MIT!) Be aware though, that regional accreditation is the highest legitimate accreditation; not state or national accreditation.

Ask lots of questions; do your research; ask for names of graduated students to contact and retenion/graduation rates. If the school gives you any push back or get's offended that you want documentation of think twice about what you are buying. On-line education is big BUSINESS (How do you think University of Phoenix could afford to purchase naming rights of the Arizona Cardinel stadium?) If it sounds too good to be true, it's probably not that great a deal for you.

I think that online education can be a viable option and know that some brick and mortar institutions offer a number of online classes that count for the same credit as their regular courses. But again, be wary of the institution.
I don't think it's unreasonable for 'did you get your degree online' to be a more common question. Not all online degrees are legitimate, and I don't think it is discriminatory to check out an online degree and make sure it is from an accredited institution as opposed to a bought degree or a degree of questionable value. After all my degree at a brick and mortar institution was verified by my employer.
I also don't think that an online degree will ever be quite the same as a brick and mortar degree. Not because you cannot get a good education, but because you are missing out on the rest of the college experience - cramped dorms, bad cafeteria food, an opportunity to meet a lot of new people you wouldn't have otherwise interacted with and to deal with a lot of different situations. The life experience aspect of college cannot be replicated online.

I don't see how online education is necessarily comparative to Ivy League schools. Why would online ed take away from only Ivy League. I would think it would take away from ALL state colleges or universities. Rutgers University, for instance isn't Ivy League, but it still costs close to $100,000 for four years. My friend attended Drew University in NJ, and in 1997 tuition was $32,000/year. Thankfully for her she got a scholarship that paid most of her tuition, but had she not, she would have owed $128,000 just for tuition alone, not even including books or whatever else, yet Drew University is not Ivy League.

I'm not saying the article isn't interesting, just that the title makes it sound like on Ivy League schools are in danger. Even the state college I attended, which is now a university, cost me over $40,000 when I attended. Now their tuition is more like $60,000.

I don't think online ed will replace Ivy League schools. People attend Ivy League for the prestige and the benefits that can come from that. An online education will not provide that. I took some online classes, and while they were helpful, they are not the same as attending class in a classroom with a teacher.

I don't understand the previous comment about missing out on the college experience. I went to a "traditional" college and I lived in my own place, worked full time during the day and had to attend school full time at night. There was nothing on campus that was so appealing that I would have missed it had I gone to school online.

For the first part of my education I didn't even realize I had the option of going to school online. I actually like being in the class room with the professor in front of me, so I never thought of any other way. However, online colleges are not all bad. There are online universities that hold Regional Accreditation, the same as Harvard and some of the other top schools. If you don't understand accreditation then you need to do your research before picking a school. Online is also a great option for anybody who cannot (for whatever reason) attend campus. I have worked in both on campus and online universities and each type has its benefits. For the online university I worked for, most of the students were military, or adults who either had a Ph.D and was returning for a new doctorate in a different field, or had always wanted a higher degree and couldn't do it in the past.

I think keeping an open mind, doing the research and deciding what's best for YOU, not what's best for Joe down the street, is the better option when trying to decide on a school.

thank you fools and sages for the correction.... it's not a word I commonly spell...

There are limitations to online education. As an staff member of a communications/performing arts college you cannot teach film, TV production, and other courses online. Also, much of the time spent in undergrad is networking. Many of my classmates have met some of their future business partners by going to school together or have reconnected with people because they went to the same school and have had the same teachers.

Plus, many schools offer study abroad semesters which are invaluable-also something you cannot do online. When it comes down to it, you are paying for the name and the resources when you attend a college. And the name, especially with some schools, opens doors.

Katie B-- the word you want is beaucoup (bo-coo) not bookus.. .bookus isn't even a word in either English or French. But "beaucoup" means "a lot" in French. Anyways. . .

When real universities that have real campuses offer online courses, it's a legitimate form of education. When places like Strayer, Troy, or U of Phoenix offer online degrees, it's much less legit. In fact, most grad schools and many employers won't accept a degree from these schools or schools like them. These places are an office building with no real classrooms. They offer no career counseling, no real advisement, no practicums or internships, and no chance to get know professors.

Additionally, classes are not the only benefit of going to college. Tay claims she didn't miss any of the college experience working full-time, taking classes at night, and living off campus because there was nothing interesting enough to keep her on campus. My response to that is that her schedule did not allow her to see exactly what the school had to offer.

The college experience is not all about taking courses and partying in dorms. If you get involved with student clubs or study abroad, you get to take trips to places you've never been. Most campuses are also central to the arts community in the area. College gives you the chance to see plays, a symphony orchestra, or even local, regional, or national performers at discount prices. Colleges often bring in major public figures or major scholars for lectures on their specialties. You might get to see a US president, senator, supreme court judge, or a major celebrity give a talk on social issues or thier journey to the big time. Colleges also offer opportunities to get involved with volunteer work and they can hook you up with practical job experience through work-study, internships, and job fairs. Online schools don't offer these things.

Online schools also do not provide you with real connections to real people. The networks you build on your own and the networks that professors can plug you into could help you get a job, a promotion, or into a great graduate program. Having lunch with a professor, tagging along with them to a conference. working in their lab, or going into the field with them gives you an academic experience that you wouldn't have over the course of an online degree. Some professors are cool enough to hang out with and you can get to know them (and they, you) as people through doing field research or lab research with them.

Furthermore, professors base the recommendations they give on much more than just grades. In addition to grades, professors consider the kind of person you are, how well you deal with stress and adversity, your work ethic, and your real desire to study what you want to go to grad school for or your real desire to work at a particular place. Professors can't know any of that if all you are is a face on a webcam or, worse, words on a screen in a chatroom. And most grad programs and potential employers weigh recommendations more than test scores or even grades.

And most private schools are no in danger of losing students to cheaper online education most private schools provide full tuition to most students-- particularly those who come from families making less than $100,000 a year. You can go to any Ivy and about 35 other private schools for the cost of room and board. The real losers in the online education game tends to be students who get degrees that mean nothing in the long run. How can you get a nursing degree online without practical experience? How can you get a social work or teaching degree online if you never get experience in the field or in the classroom? You can't even get a valid history or anthropology degree online because you need experience in archival research or in the field.

Online education only goes so far. It might be the way to go to get the general ed requirements out of the way before you go to a brick and mortar school for the degree. At the same time, those gen ed requirements won't transfer if the school doesn't have regional accreditation. In some states, credits may not transfer between brick and mortar schools within the same state university system, never mind from private brick and mortars. And online courses are given even stricter scrutiny because they simply are not as rigorous as classroom courses.

Basically, an online education is potentially bogus and at best sketchy unless it's coming through a real brick and mortar college or university in the first place. I'd avoid low-cost diploma mills at all costs because you will probably spend a lo of money for a worthless piece of paper.

Depends on the subject, but online classes are as viable a place to learn as any traditional setting. It still comes down to self-discipline and what you are willing to put into the learning experience. A qualified instructor is also a critical ingredient.

I've taken classes in both, as well as online-classroom hybrids. There are positives and negatives about each one, but with the right circumstances, all can be useful.