DL at the high prestige universities

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by CoachTurner, Aug 6, 2005.

Loading...
  1. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    My wife, a traditional student at Coastal Carolina University (Jr., BA English Lit.), has come up with an interesting theory and a way to test her theory which involves spending a bunch of my money. Since the experiment will enhance her education -- I'm all for it...

    Here's the deal:

    She wants to take a general introductory liberal arts course (ie: psych 101, soc. 101, music apprec., intro to xyz) by DL from the 5 most pretigious universities she can find with a DL program.

    Then she wants to do the same from some 5 "normal" universities she can find.

    It's not a true scientific study because she's not going to take the same course from each -- just the "same level" from each.

    She then wants to write about her experience leaning the writing to whether the high prestige U's are "harder" than the "normal" and the methods used by each. She hypothesizes that schools such as Harvard and Berkley are not going to be harder than schools like Coastal Carolina or XYZ State College. I argue that they will probably be more demanding...

    She's done DL work at Coastal Carolina and at BYU. She'll probably use the 30 or so hours earned in this experiment at one of the Big Three for something...

    Our list of "prestige" schools with online courses is:

    Harvard Extension
    Cornell
    UC Berkeley

    any ideas on some more?


    I'd like her to use LSU and U OK as two of the "normal" comparisons.

    any ideas for others are welcome

    anyone reading this that would like to toss her a class at no-cost or to provide funding support for her "research" feel free to contact us. I intend to co-author her "findings". Does anyone know of a similar "hands-on" study already completed?
     
  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

  3. oxpecker

    oxpecker New Member

    I'm afraid that I don't think it's an interesting study. The offerings of the "extension" divisions of some of the established universities are not at nearly the same standard as the universities' regular programs. For example, I took a DL 3-credit course at UC San Diego (OK, may not a "high prestige" university) and it was terrible. On the other hand, I took several DL courses at Columbia, and they were decent. A difference was that the Columbia courses were identical to courses taken by the face-to-face traditional students, while the UCSD course was customized for the extension division.

    Perhaps you could gain some insights by restricting the courses selected to those that are also routinely taken for credit by on-campus traditional students.
     
  4. stock

    stock New Member

    I agree with oxpecker that one should ensure that the DL courses one takes are the same that the students would attend when joining the same course in person..
     
  5. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    If we were trying to establish that DL courses were or were not equal to resident courses then I would agree with your rationale but her argument is comparing the demands of DL courses when compared to DL courses at different universities. Or, "is a DL course at an Ivy league harder than a DL course at a tier 4"?

    We've heard the argument that DL courses are as valid as resident courses. We've even heard some argue that the DL student learns more than the resident student.

    There have been sufficient studies to show that in most cases, courses offered by DL and those by resident study at the same university generate about the same outcomes.

    One of her arguments is this: The primary benefit of study at one of the high prestige schools is interaction with a different level of peers. Much of that interaction is lost in a DL course. (afterall, chatting on a message board is not the same as interacting in person)

    So, she believes that a course presented by one school DL will be no harder or no easier than a course presented by another school by DL and that the only real difference will be found in the method of presentation of material.

    You say you took a course that was "terrible" but do you mean it was poorly administered or that it was academically demanding?

    As far as making sure the course is "the same that students would attend" -- that's not the point of the "experiment". The course will be accepted at that institution as equivalent credit for that class, it's up to the institituion whether it is also the same material.

    For example: If she were to take "Introduction to Sociology" from LSU for example; and LSU/UNO accepts that DL course for core credit in the liberal arts -- then she has met LSU's requirement for that course (even if it is not the same material or method that resident students cover).

    It is common knowledge at Coastal Carolina University that the American Government requirement is "easier" by DL than in the classroom. It's also known that Introduction to Computer Applications is "harder" by DL than in person here.

    Since most people believe that coursework at the Harvard, Yale, Princeton class of universities is more difficult than coursework at the tier 4s -- she wants to find out if the same is true of DL programs.
     
  6. oxpecker

    oxpecker New Member

    I think you're wasting your money because I think the results of the comparison will be uninteresting. UC Berkeley (for example) is a "high prestige" institution, but that high prestige doesn't extend to UC Berkeley Extension. So I don't believe that taking a course through UC Berkeley Extension would give you valid information about the "high prestige" end of the spectrum.

    But I appreciate that what's uninteresting to me may be interesting to others.

    To answer your question, the UCSD course was "terrible" both because it was poorly taught and because it was academically undemanding.
     
  7. BlueMason

    BlueMason Audaces fortuna juvat

    ..but for a true and accurate comparison, the same course should be taken from these institutions....

    Then one could answer the question of "Is Introduction to Psychology as demanding, less demanding or more demanding than from an instutition without the prestige factor".
     
  8. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    Whether her point is validated or not -- it can't be a waste of money so long as some education is received as a result. :)

    That's my only real reason for spending the money -- one would assume that some educational benefit will be gotten as a result...
     
  9. Han

    Han New Member

    I think the point is to make sure that the classes come from the univeristy, not the extension.
     
  10. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    As I've posted before, I only know of one person (our own Jack Tracey) that has completed a degree through Harvard Extension, but I know many that have taken courses through Harvard Extension.

    My sister-in-law is a Harvard grad (A.B. and M.B.A.) that took a course through the Extension School, and she told me that there is virtually no difference between the Extension School requirements, and those of Harvard College.

    For what it's worth........
     
  11. boydston

    boydston New Member

    If UCSD isn't a high prestige university I'm not sure what is. This is one of the highest ranking research universities in the world with 8 Nobel Laureates.

    Your other point is well taken, though. Being a top-tier research university says nothing at all about the schools ability to deliver a quality distance education.
     
  12. ianmoseley

    ianmoseley New Member

  13. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    IIRC, UCSD appears in the top 20 list currently quoted in The Economist Magazine for just the reasons you cite.
     
  14. jtaee1920

    jtaee1920 New Member

    I really don't think the study, as presented, would yeild any useful information because people will naturally perform differently in varying subjects.

    You propose to compare the difficulty of courses from school to school even though difficulty of courses will vary by subject even within the same school.

    How would you quantify your results?
     
  15. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    Coastal Carolina University is a public university in the South Carolina system. If this persons degree is substandard, maybe we should bring this to the attention of the state.

    I don't know anything at all about the university in question though -- can you enlighten me?
     
  16. alarmingidea

    alarmingidea New Member

    The ALB in the Extension School is modeled on the College AB, and yes, the requirements are almost identical.

    As for comparative quality, I went to see one of my profs today, and wound up taking to a student taking the same course with him in another Harvard school. We're taking the same class, and the requirements are equal.

    The plural of anecdote isn't data, but every such conversation I've had has yielded the same result. This is my third class with this professor, and I know for a fact that he applies a single standard to all his students.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 20, 2005
  17. anthonym

    anthonym New Member

    The experiences of one person in a program or two will not make a convincing study. Instead, a survey of graduates from different programs or an analysis of graduates' GRE scores and acceptance and success grad school rates might prove something, especially if students with similar SAT scores are compared. The plan you desribe is too subjective, but the topic is interesting and useful. For example, if one can demonstrate that Big Three grads with similar SAT scores and GPA's have about the same chance of acceptance into first tier grad schools that would be valuable information.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 20, 2005
  18. ianmoseley

    ianmoseley New Member

    The current web site is http://www.strassfordu.org.uk

    The contact address given on this web site is false and the web site is registered to someone giving another false address in London.

    It offers the usual 'degrees for life experience' and has been linked with a number of other similar bodies associated with the 'University Degreee Program' operated at one time out of Romania.

    It also claims to be accredited by ECHOE, a body that also conceals its true location and claims to accredit a number of institutions that have never heard of it.

    Although Strassford gives the appearance of offering UK degrees it is not authorised to do so.

    You should be able to find a number of references to it
     
  19. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    That does sound like a good idea. I wonder how one would get that information however? Probably by emailing or advertising for students who have taken DL courses from the schools you are interested in evaluating? I guess you would have to trust the respondents on the GPA and SAT score question...
     
  20. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    Coastal Carolina University has been made aware of this "situation" -- I'm curious to see the result. I hope my alma mater will take appropriate action to protect her reputation swiftly.

    At this point, I'll take no step to defend the university here -- I'll assume this is a human error/misunderstanding and not a case of systemic complacency.

    We'll see....
     

Share This Page