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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 beli

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
      Those are enablers for sure, but not causes
      - mixmastamyk 7y ago
        What's the difference?
        bluGill 7y ago
        If students can't get the money prices cannot go up without a drop in enrollment thus students need a way to get money. That is why more money enables prices to go up, the alternative of going without becomes forced if students (other than the rich) cannot raise the money. However the ability change more doesn't force it. Administration could presumably keep prices down instead of - here I have no idea what they are spending it on. This lack of knowledge means that I cannot comment more. My opinion on using the money to pay more teachers thus reducing class size is very different from my opinion on private jets to some exotic vacation. (I don't think either of the above are the case but I could be wrong)
        mixmastamyk 7y ago
davidbanham 7y ago
> I don't think it would save the university money, if done well. Why is that the targeted benefit? I would think the main thing to gain from online courses is the ability to disseminate knowledge and learning to a broader swath of students.

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
    Those are enablers for sure, but not causes
    - mixmastamyk 7y ago
      What's the difference?
      - bluGill 7y ago
        If students can't get the money prices cannot go up without a drop in enrollment thus students need a way to get money. That is why more money enables prices to go up, the alternative of going without becomes forced if students (other than the rich) cannot raise the money. However the ability change more doesn't force it. Administration could presumably keep prices down instead of - here I have no idea what they are spending it on. This lack of knowledge means that I cannot comment more. My opinion on using the money to pay more teachers thus reducing class size is very different from my opinion on private jets to some exotic vacation. (I don't think either of the above are the case but I could be wrong)
        mixmastamyk 7y ago

davidbanham 7y ago

> I don't think it would save the university money, if done well. Why is that the targeted benefit? I would think the main thing to gain from online courses is the ability to disseminate knowledge and learning to a broader swath of students.