No more teachers' sassy looks...
The face of higher education has changed dramatically over the past decade or so. Back in medieval times, when I attended college, post-secondary education was highly scripted. Aspiring collegians took "College Prep" classes while others, who might want to enter the white collar work force took business classes and tech types took "Shop." Applications for college were completed in a timely fashion and we went off to study with classrooms and teachers much like those of high school. How that has changed! But not without a struggle.
Colleges and universities that tried nontraditional cutting edge delivery systems were often beaten down by the traditionalists. But some continued to buck the trend, fight the battles, and win the lawsuits intended to stifle them. Perhaps the college that had the biggest impact on delivery systems was the University of Phoenix, now highly regarded. Others became even more bold. Trailblazers such as Northcentral University began to offer college degrees totally online. No longer are students limited by the number of classroom seats or by certain times of the day classes are offered.
Results of providing more convenient delivery systems and class times resulted in a plethora of nontraditional students taking courses. No longer are college freshmen required to be fulltime students or take courses in a four year lockstep order. Students are now just as likely to be full time employees, stay-at-home parents, or even senior citizens. Technology and creative, outside-the-box thinkers have opened opportunities to many for whom higher education was just a dream.
So if you are a parent whose child is in a traditional college and he sends you a letter that reads, "No mon(ey). No fun. Your Son." You can reply, "Too bad. So Sad. Your Dad." Once he gets a job, follow up with, "Don't whine. Study online. It's sublime."
Dr. Forgot
No comments:
Post a Comment