I see from this op-ed in the LA Times that the Dean of the UC Berkeley Law School is advocating that the University of California system add an entirely online university.
He gives two reasons: first, so that the UC system can do “more with less”.
Hmmmm… I believe that usually works out to doing “less with less”.
Second, because “many talented Californians opt for the pricier online University of Phoenix over our public four-year campuses”. I’ll bet the Phoenix pholks will be trumpeting that money quote for quite some time.
Of course, as he goes on to say later, the true expectation of quality in California has effectively changed from a of “world-class K-16 education for all” to “better than Mississippi.”
The interesting thing here, now that I have joined the ranks of online instructors, is this idea that a university system in decline can be rescued from competition by the injection of online programs — presumably staffed by an elite corps of adjuncts.
Mississippi minions take note — maybe this approach will end up with the bottom of the barrel standard changing to “better than California”.
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I just blogged about a recent meta-analysis released by the Department of Education that states that online education at the college level is quite effective. Surprised me.
Well, if colleges turn to more online instruction, it may mean adjuncts can choose where they live since they can commute over the Internet.
I’m a graduate of the University of California, Davis, and yes, the budget pinch in my state is a bummer for education at all levels.
Comment by John Soares — July 2, 2009 @ 2:13 am |
Agree, I saw the same analysis.
That’s a good point about mobility, and would certainly help the quality of life issues faced by many adjuncts. Maybe someday we will all be “free-range professors”.
Comment by unknownadjunct — July 2, 2009 @ 2:37 am |