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I used to work in the higher-education field for a respected private university, and I think I know part of the answer to this: institutional momentum. This un

I used to work in the higher-education field for a respected private university, and I think I know part of the answer to this: institutional momentum. This university launched an online MBA program early on, and built it out with a bunch of other offerings as well. We were genuinely ahead of the curve on a bunch of things, but we were also pretty separated from the rest of the university, physically and culturally. We had our own building removed from campus, and we did things a little differently. Not quite Silicon Valley agile, but comparatively. Meanwhile, the rest of the campus was adamantly against online learning, for years. I think a big part of this is that we had an older faculty and institutional culture that was pretty set in its ways: they didn't see or recognize the value that the internet afforded their classrooms, and weren't set up to implement them. That's begun to change a bit as we got younger faculty, but there's still a tendency towards in-person learning, because of the tradition and training behind it. I don't think this is necessarily malevolent on their part: they just haven't thought deeply about it. Plus, there's a lot of infrastructure that you'd have to build out to provide online learning: there are a lot of logistical obstacles in the way. You need to select a CMS, hire course developers, train reluctant faculty and staff, figure out how to make it accessible and ADA-compliant, design courses that make sense for online learning, then market to students who are willing to go up online to take their classes. Those are a lot of hurtles to overcome for an institution, and it requires a lot of willpower and political wrangling within the institution in order to make sure it gets done. As a result... it just doesn't. I think it'll change with time, but it's like turning an aircraft carrier: you can't do it overnight.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
impendia 7y ago
I wrote a long-winded, somewhat ill-tempered response, and then quickly deleted it. But in brief -- I have thought semi-deeply about teaching online. I do believe it can be done well, but only with a lot of effort, and (at least in my department) I don't think it would save the university money, if done well. Personally, I'm not terribly eager to invest this effort. I've had a poor experience with our university's training, and also I just like interacting with people in person better. Maybe I'm just being selfish, but there are a lot of other things I can do to benefit my university and my students, which I'd enjoy more, and I'd rather invest my efforts there. That said, I do think that universities who are willing to hire faculty for remote work could develop fantastic online programs. There are tons of dual-career academic couples that don't get jobs in the same city, and try and make some crazy commuter marriage work. Hire them.
- alfiedotwtf 7y ago
  > I don't think it would save the university money, if done well If universities have to be closed for the next 6 months, And is this could happen again next year, online learning will be their only source of revenue
  - impendia 7y ago
    Oh, that's true! And I fear that it won't be done all that well. Parents have long asked "Is this really worth $XX,XXX?" Those questions could get a lot louder. It seems that some people are hoping that the COVID-19 outbreak will get a lot of universities, and individual professors, excited about the long-term potential of teaching online. I don't expect this to happen -- although I could of course be proven wrong.
- andy9775 7y ago
  > I don't think it would save the university money, if done well. IMO universities these days are mainly in the real estate business. The maintenance on a building with multiple 1k person lecture halls isn't cheap. Faculty are underpaid. And yet it's more and more expensive.
  - bluGill 7y ago
    Most universities don't pay property tax (maybe not most, but many are public and don't). They all have owned most of their land for over one hundred years. Buildings are expensive, but those are "one time capital expenses) and just plain don't add up. What I'm saying is there is no obvious reason why a university costs more to run today than 1990,but tuition has gone up far more than inflation.
    - mixmastamyk 7y ago
      Guaranteed loans and other subsidies.
      - bluGill 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

impendia 7y ago

I wrote a long-winded, somewhat ill-tempered response, and then quickly deleted it. But in brief -- I have thought semi-deeply about teaching online. I do believe it can be done well, but only with a lot of effort, and (at least in my department) I don't think it would save the university money, if done well. Personally, I'm not terribly eager to invest this effort. I've had a poor experience with our university's training, and also I just like interacting with people in person better. Maybe I'm just being selfish, but there are a lot of other things I can do to benefit my university and my students, which I'd enjoy more, and I'd rather invest my efforts there. That said, I do think that universities who are willing to hire faculty for remote work could develop fantastic online programs. There are tons of dual-career academic couples that don't get jobs in the same city, and try and make some crazy commuter marriage work. Hire them.

alfiedotwtf 7y ago
> I don't think it would save the university money, if done well If universities have to be closed for the next 6 months, And is this could happen again next year, online learning will be their only source of revenue
- impendia 7y ago
  Oh, that's true! And I fear that it won't be done all that well. Parents have long asked "Is this really worth $XX,XXX?" Those questions could get a lot louder. It seems that some people are hoping that the COVID-19 outbreak will get a lot of universities, and individual professors, excited about the long-term potential of teaching online. I don't expect this to happen -- although I could of course be proven wrong.
andy9775 7y ago
> I don't think it would save the university money, if done well. IMO universities these days are mainly in the real estate business. The maintenance on a building with multiple 1k person lecture halls isn't cheap. Faculty are underpaid. And yet it's more and more expensive.
- bluGill 7y ago
  Most universities don't pay property tax (maybe not most, but many are public and don't). They all have owned most of their land for over one hundred years. Buildings are expensive, but those are "one time capital expenses) and just plain don't add up. What I'm saying is there is no obvious reason why a university costs more to run today than 1990,but tuition has gone up far more than inflation.
  - mixmastamyk 7y ago
    Guaranteed loans and other subsidies.
    - bluGill 7y ago