I have received lots of positive feedback from my recent Mises article on the state of the University. One of those was from Larry Sanger, one of the founders of Wikipedia and a director of the Digital Universe project. He mentioned that he wrote a manifesto some ten years ago that discussed some of the same ideas. To this end, Forbes recently published an article discussing the ramifications of Stanford offering free podcasts (i.e. you no longer need to spend $30,000 to get the same education; see also Apple’s new program ‘iTunes U’). And to make everyone happy inside, I bumped into an article from Gary North discussing the non-marketability a PhD is in today’s saturated marketplace.
Having all of this knowledge under my belt, I spent about an hour compiling a tangible list (as seen below), to answer the question: “what will businesses and the populace as a whole think of someone who earns a degree from an online entity?”
U.S. News & World Reports has catalogued numerous institutions that operate extensive distance education and online classes. While some programs are relatively restrictive (i.e. requiring that you take some classes at their physical campus) many others offer fully-customizable degree plans that can be taken exclusively online. Below is a list of nationally renowned accredited college’s that offer multiple majors for undergraduates, graduates and professionals.
Note: I do not plan on updating this list, it is merely an illustration as to where the industry is heading. In no particular order:
University of Tennessee
University of Florida
Florida State University
University of Maryland
University of Maryland University College
Iowa State University
George Washington University
Rutgers University
Boise State University
Washington State University
University of Washington
University of Colorado System
Connecticut State University System
University of Oklahoma System
University of Nebraska System
University of Nebraska
University of North Dakota
University of Missouri
Northeastern University
Auburn University
State University of New York
Seton Hall
University of Georgia
Texas Tech University
Oregon State University
Indiana State University
Embry-Riddle University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
University of North Carolina
Montana State University
Michigan State University
Illinois Institute of Technology
University of Illinois
Syracuse University
University of Pittsburgh
University of Waterloo
University of Toronto
Open University
University of North Texas
University of Denver
Arizona State University
University of Delaware
University of South Carolina
Boston University
Kansas State University
Harvard
Stanford
University of Southern California
Pepperdine
UCLA
New Jersey Institute of Technology
University of Hawaii
Rochester Institute of Technology
In addition, both the University of Oklahoma and Texas Tech offer dual-credit highschool distance education programs allowing high school kids to earn both a diploma and credits toward a college degree at the same time. Also, EPGY from Stanford and CTY from Johns Hopkins offer similar services for young “gifted and talented” students.
Mainstream? Yes. Innovative? Perhaps. Legitimate? Depends on who you talk to apparently.
And speaking of creative solutions for virtual interaction, check out the 3DLearning Academy, which uses fully immersive digital avatars to interact with students in grades 7-12. Perhaps one day someone will design a full lineup of courses to be played in the World of Warcraft (questing brings on a new meaning). Perhaps the two million homeschooled kids can figure out some way to both implement and capitalize off such an innovation.
One cardinal rule in business is that things only get done if they can be measured.
Today the traditional 4 year degree is just the most common measure and screening tool for entry level positions.
However, this may change. Before companies became proficient at articulating corporate goals and translating those down into departmental and individual objectives, the most convenient way to evaluate performance was through checking what time people got to their desk in the morning and when they left at night.
Less important was what work got done while they were at their desk because in the absence of individual objectives this was hard to measure.
Today my employees are scattered around the country and I have no idea when they are actually working nor do I particularly care. They are measured against their objectives.
Perhaps when we figure out better ways to measure knowledge we can abandon the rather poor binary metric of the 4 year degree.
Comment by Tanstaafl — 1/28/2006 @ 11:15 am
Aloha! This post is in the 5th Carnival of Homeschooling here.
Comment by Anne — 1/31/2006 @ 4:27 am
[...] To this end I have noted previously (1 2), numerous brick-and-mortar institutions which have increasingly adapted to this technologically changing landscaping – adopting web forums, email list serves, instant messaging, video web cams, voice-over-IP and all the other bells and whistles that are sometimes collectively called Web 2.0. [...]
Pingback by Doctor Recommended » Blog Archive » Without the State who will accredit? — 2/3/2006 @ 2:52 am
[...] One thing is true, Swanson would be proud of G-Dub for a privatized food plan that brings in the dough big time. Market forces, WHAT? (Thumps chest, takes bite from PowerBar). Swanson posted a follow up blog entry to the article where he compiles a list schools that have extensive distance learning programs. Yeah, GW is on the list. [...]
Pingback by DC Blog » Blog Archive » The Future of University — 2/7/2006 @ 1:50 am
[...] A recent story from the NY Times, Online Colleges Receive a Boost From Congress, notes that Congress removed a barrier for students attending online schools to receive financial aid from los federales. This is kind of bittersweet. On the one hand there are a number of interesting statistics that show the growing trend in attending these schools (i.e. bigger enrollment numbers), but again, the way things are financed (i.e. via the State) make free traders cringe. [...]
Pingback by Doctor Recommended » Blog Archive » Would They Still Attend Without The Cheap Financing? — 3/3/2006 @ 11:39 pm