Does online vs on-campus really make that big of a difference? Advice needed

I completed an MA in Human Services through Liberty University, so I feel the pain of my fellow LU alums/students.

I hate grading scales like this, strictly from a assessment/statistical point of view. I don't have enough confidence in any assessment tools in an online environment to have reliable and valid differentiation among letter grades within a few percentage points of each other. This kind of scale doesn't really allow for much margin of error.

At least they are adding 10 points to the top almost as "throwaway" points, but that's still a very small concession for possible assessment error.

For instance the difference between an A (at 94% percent) and a B (at 89.9%) in percentage is only 4.1%, but the difference in quality points is 1 full point per hour (25% of the available quality points). I don't know that there is a "correct" grading scale that can perfectly balance demand for accuracy with accommodation for assessment error, but I'm fairly certain that this scale isn't the one.

That being said, I've seen worse.

The worst grading scale I've had the "pleasure" of experiencing was at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary (www.mabts.edu):

A (4.0) = 97-100%
A-(3.8)= 95-96%
B+ (3.5) = 93-94%
B (3.0)= 90-92%
B- (2.7)= 87-89%
C+ (2.3) = 84-86%
C (2.0)= 81-83%
C - (1.7) = 77-80%
D+ (1.3) = 75-76%
D (1.0) = 72-74%
D- (0.7) = 70-71%
F (0) = 0-69%

I could spend all day griping about this kind of grading scale, but the most significant problem is that the grading scale seems "hard" but in practice ends up resulting in percentage inflation (if this is even the right term). Professors did not grade that stringently. I believe they did so because they knew that deducting even an extra point or two would create drastic differences in GPA.

 

I definitely concur. I have found my professors to be extremely accessible, with many of them giving out their home numbers and encouraging us to call with questions.

 

Yes, I agree. That "A-" to "B+" transition is bordering on ridiculous. Earn 94% in a class and end up with a "B+"? Doesn't seem right.

I do not like the idea of forcing grades into a letter-based scale anyway. Not sure what would be better, though.

 

Just use the number?

 

Yes, that's what I have been thinking for awhile too. That way, someone who earns, for instance, a 98% in a class is differentiated from someone who earns a 95%. A continuously variable scale would be much more fair and accurate, IMHO.

 

Be carefull here - you would still have to meet degree requirements which could mean that you would need more than 30 credits.

 

Kizmet,

I definitely agree that online education will become more common than B&M. I have gone both routes and prefer the online option, especially as a working adult. Also, I think that the reputation and accreditation of a school is what counts, not whether or not the work was done online or in the classroom.

BusinessManIT
MBA in Information Systems, City University of Seattle
BS in Health Care Administration, California Coast University
BS in Geography, Michigan State University

 

I'm not sure if the OP is trolling or is simply letting their stress affect their thinking but come on man. You come to an online forum and post in the category related to distance learning discussions and you expect to get an unbiased or neutral viewpoint on the question? Don't be ridiculous. It's like walking into the lion's den and asking for their opinion on deer meat.

Given your life circumstances, on-line education might very well be the best bet for you. And some of the points raised by prior commentators in this thread are fair ones; it's just that they have a bias. I'd talk with people off-line, especially your school's counselors, before I made a final decision.

 

Note that the OP posted in June 2013. I'm sure they weren't trolling.

 

LOL. I don't realize this was a necro. Should have paid closer attention.