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In my 5 years of University in Germany, probably 95% of my courses had at least 300 students and there are exactly 2 professors who know me as more than "the ra

by Atropos 14y ago

In my 5 years of University in Germany, probably 95% of my courses had at least 300 students and there are exactly 2 professors who know me as more than "the random person who just raised his hand". Simply recording the lecture with a camera and putting the content online would have already been a huge improvement. Obviously closer supervision/contact with professors is a superior model, but sentences like "these students need engagement with their teachers to feel comfortable and to succeed" sound almost laughable from a German perspective. Would I have enjoyed the personal experience of a good US school? Probably yes. Would paying $20,000 per year in tuition for the privilege instead of no tuition at all have been worth it? In my case, definately not!

slurry 14y ago
This is one of the reasons why German universities consistently underperform in international rankings.
droithomme 14y ago
Yes, it's actually exactly the same in the US, despite the strange propaganda claims in these daily anti-online-education articles that suggest US college is like kindergarten, with the professor holding every student's hand at each step of their mutual journey of self-discovery and personal fulfillment. In real life, undergraduate classes at well reputed universities may have 100, 200, or even 800 students for some freshman courses. You may go the entire semester and never once see the well known professor appear in class. Often the entire class is taught by a TA who speaks English with an incomprehensible accent due to his recent arrival in the US as a grad student being his first exposure to the language. The notion that american professors closely and personally interact with and tutor each student, with special focus on those from underprivileged backgrounds so that every student has the same chance at success, an idea being pushed in these articles, is complete nonsense and simply does not happen in large US institutions.

by Atropos 14y ago

slurry 14y ago

This is one of the reasons why German universities consistently underperform in international rankings.

droithomme 14y ago

Yes, it's actually exactly the same in the US, despite the strange propaganda claims in these daily anti-online-education articles that suggest US college is like kindergarten, with the professor holding every student's hand at each step of their mutual journey of self-discovery and personal fulfillment. In real life, undergraduate classes at well reputed universities may have 100, 200, or even 800 students for some freshman courses. You may go the entire semester and never once see the well known professor appear in class. Often the entire class is taught by a TA who speaks English with an incomprehensible accent due to his recent arrival in the US as a grad student being his first exposure to the language. The notion that american professors closely and personally interact with and tutor each student, with special focus on those from underprivileged backgrounds so that every student has the same chance at success, an idea being pushed in these articles, is complete nonsense and simply does not happen in large US institutions.