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I agree with your general sentiments, but, and you are certainly not alone in this, you glossed over the financial issues facing universities. In many cases, th

by glesica 13y ago

I agree with your general sentiments, but, and you are certainly not alone in this, you glossed over the financial issues facing universities. In many cases, the budget issues facing universities are not all endogenous, unavoidable problems. I think a better strategy would be to figure out why, exactly, universities are so strapped for cash (I've worked in higher education, it isn't a simple issue) and target those issues instead. This is not to say that pedagogical advances can't be made, but as you pointed out, these advances, to the extent possible, should not be influenced by budget constraints lest we end up with cheaper, but proportionally worse, education.

mjt0229 13y ago
Exactly.
yummyfajitas 13y ago
This is not to say that pedagogical advances can't be made, but as you pointed out, these advances, to the extent possible, should not be influenced by budget constraints lest we end up with cheaper, but proportionally worse, education. Why do you believe that worse but cheaper education wouldn't provide a better value to students?
- glesica 13y ago
  I see your point. I was thinking (though I didn't state it explicitly, apologies) of "worse" to mean "worse value". For instance, reducing the quality by, say 10%, but reducing the price by 50% would probably be a good value for many students, I agree with that. My concern is that the quality would drop "more" than the price. This concern is partially motivated by my background. I used to work for a university doing academic technology-related stuff. In my opinion, many of the technologies that were being acquired didn't contribute much to the quality of the education offered (beyond looking sexy when prospective students came in for tours). However, the tech was often extremely expensive and, in fact, required additional fees in many cases.
Jun8 13y ago
I agree with your strategy to solve the actual problem (son't forget the predatory student loaning business), but that's like asking for a complete solution to the TSP (only half joking, social problems are wicked problems, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem, that may actually be harder to solve) whereas an approximate solution may suffice in its place or in the interim. I think the MOOC's present such a solution. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't attack the problem you mention, though.

by glesica 13y ago

mjt0229 13y ago

Exactly.

yummyfajitas 13y ago

This is not to say that pedagogical advances can't be made, but as you pointed out, these advances, to the extent possible, should not be influenced by budget constraints lest we end up with cheaper, but proportionally worse, education. Why do you believe that worse but cheaper education wouldn't provide a better value to students?

glesica 13y ago
I see your point. I was thinking (though I didn't state it explicitly, apologies) of "worse" to mean "worse value". For instance, reducing the quality by, say 10%, but reducing the price by 50% would probably be a good value for many students, I agree with that. My concern is that the quality would drop "more" than the price. This concern is partially motivated by my background. I used to work for a university doing academic technology-related stuff. In my opinion, many of the technologies that were being acquired didn't contribute much to the quality of the education offered (beyond looking sexy when prospective students came in for tours). However, the tech was often extremely expensive and, in fact, required additional fees in many cases.

Jun8 13y ago

I agree with your strategy to solve the actual problem (son't forget the predatory student loaning business), but that's like asking for a complete solution to the TSP (only half joking, social problems are wicked problems, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem, that may actually be harder to solve) whereas an approximate solution may suffice in its place or in the interim. I think the MOOC's present such a solution. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't attack the problem you mention, though.