low faculty compensation hurts online universities https://news.elearninginside.com/low-faculty-compensation-hurts-online-university-programs/
Is this article some sort of stupid joke? Of course Kaplan as a for profit paid its faculty less than Purdue. However, most of the KU employees will likely be gone soon as Purdue dismantles KU and cherry picks the parts that it wants to keep. Remember if KU was profitable, Graham Holdings would not have given it away. The giveaway was likely prompted by fears KU was going to end up like Corinthian and Graham Holdings would be on the hook for millions.
When I was an online adjunct, I met few people who were living in places in like Belize and Mexico where salaries and cost of living is lower than the US. I believe the low pay can be compensated with the freedom to chose your place of residence. With 50,000 a year you can live like a king in Belize so it is not such a bad choice for those looking to be in contact with nature and more relax working environment. My only problem is the lack of job security as you are only given short term contracts and as more people get PhDs online, the contract become more difficult to get.
You certainly can. But you can die there, too. Many advise Canadians that these countries can be unsafe places to visit - and definitely unsafe to live there, as you might not live very long. Murder rates are 34.5 per 100,000 in Belize and 16.3 in Mexico. By contrast, Europe averages 3.0, Canada is 1.7 and U.S. rate is 4.9. Hey, I like the Canadian rate! Stay out of Winnipeg and it's even lower! Here, you're more likely to die of exposure, waiting for a bus in January! Have a nice apt. or house in Belize or Mexico? Might as well paint a target on your back. Foreigner, as well? Paint a huge one - in Day-Glo paint! Only difference: Belize - your killer(s) will probably speak English. A bit less likely in Mexico. Dead or muerto - same result. J.
Having actually done so, I find people in North America often grossly exaggerate the danger of living elsewhere in this hemisphere.
I've met Colombians (he: engineer, she: scientist) who left their country because of the danger, as have many others. They're doing fine here. They oughta know... J.
The article is poorly researched. Kaplan had a traditional and online segment. I believe the instructors who actually teach in traditional classrooms made $50,000. Online instructors were largely drawn from a pool of poorly paid adjuncts who would be lucky to ever make $25,000 and even less after Obamacare when the "humanitarians" at Kaplan slashed assignments to make sure no one could ever qualify, even inadvertently, for health insurance. Online adjuncting does not pay enough to even retire in Venezuela or Haiti. With three or four schools at once you might be able to make 25-30K a year these days.
That was the max I reached as an adjunct, both online and in the classroom, before I finally got a full time gig in higher ed: $30,000 a year. I was teaching for four different colleges, sometimes driving 60 miles one way to teach a 6pm to 10pm class, and mixing it up with quite a few online classes, to make $30,000 a year with no benefits. Had a family too. Fun stuff.