Putting students on the path to a degree before they actually enroll...sounds intriguing doesn't it? Albany State University is announcing a new program to allow students to "start college before college." As I read further into the article, it is just another of many programs that is a for-profit entity trying to provide opportunities for future students ways to earn college credits for a reduced price (compared to the tuition rates at universities). The organization, called Straighter Line, states the following on their website:
"We offer a new way to complete your required college courses online for less - less money, less time, and less hassle - with convenient and affordable online college courses you can take on your own schedule. These aren't your typical distance learning courses."
There are an increasing number of programs that offer such programs with guaranteed credit transfer, lower costs and easy access. These programs seem to range from high schools to community colleges to for profit organizations, all offering courses that can count for college credits. Some courses are available on line and some are held at the institutions.
So why did I focus on this particular article and website? Because as I was looking through the website it stated that one of its' partner schools was Colorado State University - Global Campus. I became very curious why a global campus that offers degrees on line would want to allow transfer credits from the "Straighter Line" curriculum. This was strange to me for a few reasons:
- Wouldn't CSU want to gain the revenues for providing the same courses offered by Straighter Line?
- Why would CSU not want to have more control over the curriculum and the materials taught when they are offering a degreed program.
- Straighter Line isn't adding a new convenience to the CSU global campus.
CSU global campus, which specialized in all on line courses, could offer some of its entry level courses at lower costs to compete with a course like Straighter Line. By maintaining control over the course materials and content, CSU would "know" what was being taught and where there is a gap in materials. Finally, since there isn't any added convenience for utilizing the Straighter Line program (other than cost), it seems that CSU would want to push the prestige of all courses created by the university.
I believe that by allowing such programs, it actually dumbs down the program that CSU Global Campus is offering.
The next idea is do I believe in earning college credits before actually attending college? The answer to that question for me is yes and no. I believe there is a benefit for a high school student to have some exposure to college coursework. I believe that parents can benefit with the reduced cost of such programs. I further believe that there if likely to be a strong correlation between students that start earning credits early and completing a degree. But, I worry about students that earn up to two years of college credits and enter college taking junior level course work but have the maturity level of a freshman. Looking at developing a student as a whole, the idea of some students being so far advanced academically but possibly lacking on the social end is somewhat concerning. College is hard enough but not allowing the student to find themselves, resolve conflicts with in themselves and with others gives a student a huge disadvantage.
Convenience and cost can make programs such as Straighter Line attractive to students preparing to enter college and I have no doubt that more and more of these programs will be available. I do hope that at some point Universities will take back such courses and stress the importance of continuity and prestige.
This is an interesting article and relates to my previous post about the Board of Regents for the state of Nevada outsourcing their online college.
ReplyDeleteI'm still on the fence about for-profit online colleges. I just have seen so many students at Metro with the same story from their for-profit experience. The story is they have to start new again with lots of debt because a for-profit school who "promised" their credits would transfer "anywhere" actually did not. But I also know many people who are and have completed degrees specifically through University of Phoenix that had wonderful experiences and a quality education.
Speaking to college level classes in high school. My senior year of high school I had a light class load and could if I took at least one college course at our local community college. (It cost me $3 a credit hour!!!!) So I took a remedial English course that I then transferred to my 4-year so I could start at college level English and a history course. Taking both of these classes while I still was in high school made the starting of college less intimating and I knew what to expect. It also boosted my confidence about academic performance in college- all experiences that are important to retention and persistence in college. Now, none of these were in an online format or a for-profit institution so the experience might be different.
My brother also did the same thing in high school but completed almost 45 credit hours before he started college. However, he was a business major, a degrees at his school that took five years instead of four. So by transferring in all those credits he did complete a degree in four years.
I don't think that either of us felt like we did not get a college experience or our maturity level was not at the same as our peers in classes partly because if you are a high school student that motivated to start your college classes early, your maturity level and potentially academic abilities might be higher than peers your same age.
Cindy and Amy both raise very good points as far as what to do for upcoming Freshman students going to college. I think that big argument is how much college tuition has increased over the years which has become a huge deterrent for high school students to attend a 4-year university when they can go to a junior college or a community college and receive their underclass general education classes for a fraction of the cost and transfer into the major university to finish up their degree. I am amazed at the amount of K-12 students I see doing this in today's age. 10 years ago, this was not as much the case. But I see more students now taking online courses...even for high school classes, so they can graduate high school earlier, begin college with X amount of credits, and finish college before their 4 years are typically up. I don't know if I really agree with all these philosophies. Yes, I understand increased college costs, but I don't understand the rush to get out of college. I don't think the brain is mature enough to graduate when someone is 20 years old. With the number of higher education majors being in their late 20-30 year old group (from a previous blog), I believe this shows how much more people value an education and what it can do for them because the can take more away from what they are learning/understanding within the classes. I think more of this occurs IN the classrooms as well, away from the online learning. The lack of social interaction because of online learning, I believe, detracts from a students perspective of information given in class. I agree with Amy when she says that people just are not mature enough to achieve the same academic abilities as their peers who are not the same age.
ReplyDeleteCindy, thank you for the article. I think you present some very good questions in your blog. Interestingly, my mind first went to whether or not the online college is accredited. Just recently I was contacted by an online college who wanted to attend one of our college events. When I asked about their credentials they stated that they had an articulation agreement with us. I found that hard to believe and looked a little further into the situation. Come to find out, the school does not have an articulation agreement with us, nor are they accredited. It made me wonder how many people they have incorrectly informed that there is an articulation agreement with us. On a bigger scale, I began to wonder how many other colleges claim to have agreements that really do not exist.
ReplyDeleteI, like Amy, find so many students coming to us who are in a lot debt from online schools. While online education works for some people, it definitely is not for everyone. It can be convenient, but it can also be a lot more work than students are expecting. The other problem with online education is the accreditation issue. Most students do not know how important accreditation is and are very upset when they try to transfer to and their credit cannot be accepted. Yes, students have the option to CLEP out of a lot of subjects, but that costs money, we don't offer it for every subject, and it does not typically transfer. Students can try to do a portfolio for credit, but this is very time intensive and is not often a path chosen by students. Overall, I think we need to educate the public more about reasonable cost of attendance, accreditation, and potential scams stating there is an articulation or transfer agreement with another college.
You raise good questions about why CSU would want want to partner with Straight Line (or other such programs). I can think of one reason.
ReplyDeleteStraight Line is probably able to offer these classes for cheaper than CSU can offer them. To meet their price, CSU Global would likely be losing money. But, by partnering with Straight Line, CSU may have found that they get more transfers to CSU. Transfer students generally take less resources than traditional first-year students. By taking classes at Straight Line, you may see that CSU is a partner campus. A student wanting to get a "real degree" may then take advantage of transferring credits (my guess is it's a limited number) and CSU benefits. Interesting though, that we're partnering with this for profit group!
That is really a nice post. I was really looking for something this like this which could add to my knowledge in education.
ReplyDeleteUniversity Transfer Credits