Many online classes are way too easy. (not a joke, sorry)

The first thread I started about this, stating that online classes are a joke, caused some anger and was eventually deleted by a moderator. I apologize to everyone for sensationalizing the idea and ticking people off. I was angry because my current class really is a joke.

Here is a more polite way of addressing the same concern:
Many online classes are way too easy and I'm concerned about the quality of the degrees I am earning. In a number of schools I have attended online, including UoP, Capella and the RA online school I am currently attending (undisclosed), I have found that I don't need to read the book. All I have to do is scan the book for something to write about (takes 10 minutes at most), write a paper and get an easy A. (Admittedly, I am good at scanning and writing) Since papers are the only requirement, that makes getting an A in many classes very little work.

There is something wrong with that. At the B&M schools where I have earned degrees, you had to read the book to pass the exams. If I chose to read the book in this current joke class, I would obviously learn more than I am, but a good class should not make it possible to pull the stunts that I pull.

I am beginning to think that online classes that do not include a test or some other meaningful assessment of learning, are too easy. I know you can cheat on an online test, so that might even suggest a proctored test, I don't know. All I know is that I'm growing more and more concerned.

 

Also, on the thread that got deleted, someone stated that I would run into problems in life outside of school because I took shortcuts. I actually have many successful years in business and have learned to work efficiently and complete tasks quickly and effectively. In fact, the whole thing might just be the fact that I have a lot of experience and I'm a quick study, I suppose, and there is nothing wrong with the classes I am taking. Not trying to brag, just trying to think it through.

 

what level of classes are you able to only scan the book and get an easy A?

 

All master's level and doctoral level.

 

I guess it comes down to, you can keep pulling your stunts and trying to one up the grading of your classes by not really committing yourself or learn and study because you want to.

 

Agreed, but if I can do this, many others can too and it makes you wonder about the quality of a program if a person can get through without doing much.

 

The only way to make an online class hard, and truthfully the only way to make any class hard, is to increase the amount of content that a student is responsible for during a semester. This is entirely appropriate for a full-time student experience.

For a part-time student that may work full-time, the volume of content is majorly correlated to the amount of time required to complete the course. Programs that cater to part-time students generally tone back the content in respect of the time limitations those students bring to the table.

In my experience:

1. My degree at Northeastern took 10 years of ass-in-chair both full-time and part-time. Much of that was my fault as I didn't know what I wanted to do with my education. I was doing things the long way and tried a lot of different disciplines as I felt like it.
I had hard classes and I had walk classes. Mostly depended on my ability and relationship with teachers.

2. My degree at WGU took 2 years and I had walk sections and harder sections, but since I didn't have to deal with teachers and politics, it was a much nicer experience than Northeastern. I'd say I learned more from WGU than I did from Northeastern, but I did more work with Northeastern that I'll never use again.

3. My degree from UMass took 2.5 years and I had walk sections and harder sections. The harder stuff were all areas I had little interest in. I'd say the amount of work I did at UMass was equivalent to WGU and far less than Northeastern.

Northeastern was conventional. Others were Online.

My opinion is that you spend more time working on school when you're surrounded by school. When you're working remotely with little contact to instructors the assignments tend to be simpler. I wouldn't say that I'm getting more utility out of Northeastern than I've gotten out of WGU or UMass.

I'll be really interested in quality of program if I get accepted to DSU. Fingers crossed.

 

All I can say is that I have taken UG and graduate courses on campus at several different schools and found some real easy (one graduate course in geology I got an A just on the knowledge I obtained in high school many years ago) and some hard. But I think it comes down to what your relevant knowledge is before you took the class.

Of all the engineering courses I took on campus in the UK all were difficult.

 

Which is why the selective interview process of most companies weeds out the people that conduct themselves this way (in theory that is). I understand your concern and if I felt that way about my upcoming degree, I would be upset. Luckily for me, PSU tends to hold its academic reputation in high regards and the distance courses are very tough.

Disclaimer: Your mileage may vary.

 

I can't think of one DL course I took in which I could "scan a book and writer a paper" and get an easy "A". I busted my a$$ for my grades.

 

There's little chance of a well regarded graduate degree being awarded at all, nevermind with top marks, via consistent application of that level of effort.

No doubt, experience and aptitude for quick study are helpful in any situation, but your achievements will be far superior if you apply your talents in a more challenging environment.

It's time for an upgrade in the quality of the institutions you are choosing. Thankfully, this does not preclude all online/DL offerings.

 

Do you think ANYONE in graduate school actually reads ALL of the assigned reading?

Graduate school teaches one how to learn the fine art of skimming and speed reading.

It should also be noted that earning high grades for crummy work is nothing new. The work you are submitting is probably not quality work if you are just skimming for a brief 10 minutes and then knocking out a paper. Quality research papers take time and effort. Grades of "A" and "B" are thrown around like candy these days. Grade inflation is an epidemic that isn't exclusive to online programs.

You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are just like everyone else who survived graduate school.

 

:dunce::dunce::boggled:

I think the answer is really very simple: you are plainly exceedingly more brilliant than most of us poor shlubs who muddled our way through earning degrees online and you should pipe down, take your cakewalk 4.0 and go take the corporate world by storm. :dunce:

 

Hey! Watch what you are saying buddy! I AM a beautiful and unique flake....uh...I mean snowflake.

 

LOL. Do I detect a hint or sarcasm? :smile: I'm no smarter than anyone else on this board. I'm good at skimming, finding the right info and then turning it into a paper. But these are education classes, I doubt I could pull this stunt off in an engineering, or similar hard science.

 

It is common knowledge that online schools are in business to make money, not to teach. To keep students registered, the schools must make the materials as easy as possible, so that withdrawals are minimized. Some online schools are even known to have a 'no failing policy," where all students are given A's regardless of their work. The good news is that many are realizing the scams, and are attending "real schools" (part of the reason why enrollment at online schools are dropping significantly).

 

Now you're getting it! Of course the hard science and math majors are harder. Even schools that are considered great are lenient when it comes to grading those who are liberal arts majors. Even the low-lier schools will grade harder when it comes to engineering, statistics, nursing, or biology etc. You have dedication to complete the liberal arts degree, so that is a plus. However, no matter where you go classes in the liberal arts are simply EASY!

 

Calling all online schools a scam is a blanket statement that can not be applied to every program in every school.

 

Now, the original post was humorous, this is downright preposterous. ALL institutions of higher learning need to make money to stay open (in business). Do you think Yale professors work for free? Give me a break. I'm sure that all online institutions are secretly owned by Donald Trump types and they are swimming in the money they make like Scrooge McDuck...

And yes... a HINT of sarcasm... :stooges: