Poll: Online Education Gaining Acceptance

Americans Support Higher Ed and Online Degrees, Poll Finds | Inside Higher Ed

 

Didn't think this would happen but one of my former professors from my MPA program declined giving me a recommendation to Valdosta's DPA program. He told me he wasn't keen on online doctorates even though I told him Valdosta was an RA B&M school and that their MPA program was accredited by NASPAA.

This is what he wrote in his E-mail, "[Boethius], I just can buy into any online PhD. I can see taking a few courses online for an undergraduate or graduate degree, but for a doctoral degree it is too important to go the online route. I know the academic world and people will not respect a higher-level degree gained online, so I think it would be a diservice to you. This is not a reflection on your ability, because I think you could complete it with excellence." Have any of you experienced this kind of rejection?

 

I too had a similar problem. To my surprise, one of my undergrad professors refused to give me a recommendation letter to an online-masters program. She too claimed that such degrees were worthless, that one needed to be in the classroom to fully understand the material. I politely pointed her to several studies showing that online learning was not only effective, but in some cases, more rigorous than butt-in-seat learning. Still she would not listen. Needless to say, I recently found out that my undergrad Alma Mater is now offering online degrees, when I reached out to my old professor to inquiry about it; well, this is what she shot back to me in an email:

"Hi [Kool] I'm glad that you are doing well. With regards to Barry offering online degrees, well, I'm sad to say that it is true. Apparently this is the wave of the future. I, however, still hold to my belief that online education is no where near in depth and in quality to face-to-face learning. Convenient, yes, equal, no. Not now, maybe in 20 or so years, maybe..."

 

Things WILL change. We just have to wait for the old guard to either die off or retire and go away. Online learning is here to stay. That's not going to change.

 

Agreed! No negative reflection here in terms of the old guard, there are many within it's ranks who embrace newer methodologies of learning. Sadly, however, there is a segment of the old guard that will have to "run it's course."

I guess the transition in the 1860's from handwritten to typewritten documents was quite problematic for some as well. :smile:

 

Many of these "old timers" are astonishingly arrogant with their belief that evey student in their F2F courses hangs on their every word. They have a captive audience in each class because the students have no option but to go to class. This creates the inflated perception of a superior value of the F2F environment among the Old Guard.

I was recently discussing a faculty opportuntiy with a tenured professor from my B&M MPA program. She noted that my blended/online DPA from Valdosta would not be seen as competitive for the position over the candidate from a traditional program. When I noted how much I made as an online faculty member she was astonished that I made more money that the opening paid.

Many of these people are extremely bitter that they had to work so hard for their traditional degrees while eating Ramen and living on student loans. The ability to earn a Doctorate with today's technology while still making a living with a "real" job to pay the bills is threatening to their contextual view of the higher education field.

 

Same here. The extra pay for adjunct work is good but I make more money in my full-time job than many full professors at the university. A starting salary for a tenured-track assistant professorship is between 35K to 45K in NYC, and then they have to sweat out publications in order to get promoted. Perhaps academia in the USA does have a legitimate gripe with practioners earning professional doctorates - LOL!

 

35K - 45K in NYC!!!!:yuck: How the heck do they survive on such a low salary? :shrug:

 

And that's from a public university which normally pays higher salaries. Above the 45k to 50K (50k plus) range is the Associate Professor salary range. Yep, intellectual slave labor. When they say "Publish or Perish," they're not joking. Caveat: we're talking purely academic salaries, not academic/professional salaries as you would find in medical or business schools. That's a different market.

 

This has been my experience, too. I'd add that so many people are focused on inputs and processes and not on outcomes. If they took the time to examine it, they'd see that the outcomes from distance learning can be as robust as those found in face-to-face classes. In fact, DL requires an andragogical approach, which is more consistent with its audience. Classroom-based programs often remain pedagogical and, thus, miss out on the benefits of adult self-directed learning. They risk being inferior.

The one skill I can think of that gets cheated in online learning is the ability to put on a business presentation. Because most DL is asynchronous, there isn't a forum for doing presentations. This is particularly harmful in bachelor's and master's degrees in business-related areas.

 

When I approached my prof in a BM school about doctoral studies in a BM school, she discouraged it saying that its a lot of work for uncertain returns. I can just imagine what she will say to an online program.

 

A common sentiment at such schools. She might be right. She might be ignorant. I'm betting on--and there's lots of evidence to support this--ignorant.

 

This is typical of the fascinating combination of academic arrogance and academic ignorance that is so prominent among higher ed faculty. They "hold to their belief" of traditional education's superiority without a shred of data to back it up. Scholars...yeah right.

 

Great sniglet.

 

Excellent!

 

My salary was considerably better than that at a local State University in PA, where I was hired as an Assistant Professor, immediately upon earning my Ph.D. from NCU. I've mentioned this before, but they never asked me any questions about where or how I earned the Ph.D. It was required for the job and they did request transcripts and assure it was RA. But other than that, they did not seem to care.

The PA State Universities all offer online courses and some fully online degree programs. I did get some mixed signals from some of the old timers that worked there, about the idea of "online" learning and clearly some were dismayed by the acceptance and promotion of this type of learning by their university. I wanted to teach mostly online for them, but of course those with more seniority got to choose those courses before me, so I taught mostly face to face, and also supervised student teachers (this was quite enjoyable for me, but involved a lot of travel, and winters are nasty where I live!)

And yes, if I wanted to become tenured, it was definitely publish or perish, as well as join every possible committee and become involved with enough activities to make my day about 10-14 hours a day, at least 5 days a week. I decided after one year, I would rather make my living just teaching online as I had been doing. It never was my goal to become a tenured professor; I only applied for that job on a whim after getting my Ph.D. It was an interesting year though and I'm glad I did it.

But some of the old timer tenured professors appeared to me to be quite lazy and smug in their positions, putting in minimal time and really, they did not have to be great instructors either.

I get a chuckle out of how so many academics expect people to cite evidence of proven studies and research to support beliefs but they "hold on to their beliefs" with no evidence on many topics, not just limited to online learning.

But yes, I do think that over time, the old timers that "hold on to their views" will retire and be replaced by more forward thinking professors. As a person who hated sitting through boring lectures, I will be quick to say that I learn as well or better with distance learning than I have ever learned in a face to face setting.