This semester, not only am I in this Current Issues class with all of you, but I am also in the Finance class. Many of the things we are talking about in Finance feel like they relate to Current Issues because fiscal issues are always current. One way, it seems, colleges think they can find tuition revnue in students is by offering more online classes and complete degree programs. However, I am learning that it costs just about as much money to run an online class as it does in person. In addition, online learning may not be the best platform for some subjects or some student learners but colleges keep moving forward with online courses.
So in my skimming of Inside Higher Ed last week, I came across this article on the State of Nevada's attempt to create an online state college. The Nevada Virtual College would be a two year community college aimed at creating technical programs for students to prepare them for the workforce in the state. This is part of a proposal put forth to rework the community college system in the state. For more information on other parts of the proposal read this article. (I wanted to know more about the proposal and hoped to find the document online somewhere but only news articles turned up.) I thought "no big deal, we have something like that here in Colorado" but as I read further, what makes this a different venture is the online college would be outsourced to Western Governors University.
When I looked further at Western Governors University (WGU), their mission seems to represent the same proprietary goals as other online only schools. Even the tag line for the institution, "Online. Accelerated. Affordable. Accredited." does not tell me anything more about my educational experience, other than I can do it when I want to, it will be fast, and maybe I can pay for it. As an educator, I would want to know the type of educational experience my students would be receiving through this joint venture and the website does little to explain their values towards education other than they are fast, convenient, and affordable. The article did not expand on how the Board of Regents chose WGU or if they had looked into the type of education their students would be receiving.
Online education is here and here to stay and this article just reinforces that point for me. What I am struggling with is why would a public education system want to outsource its education (and those things that come with it like reputation, quality of instruction, etc) to a for-profit institution? I can understand the feelings from faculty expressed in the article. It leaves me with the question, does the State of Nevada Board of Regents actually want to support their current community college system? Do they not believe in the quality of their educational system? Why wouldn't they want their faculty to teach these courses? And is it really cheaper to outsource?
The State of Nevada is one of the most behind states in the country when it comes to higher education. I don't know if they think this will catch them up. While there is no resolution, this will be an interesting story to watch and see if a decision is ever made. Further, if they do choose to outsource, I will be interested to see how two systems working together can create an educational experience online.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post on a topic I had not ever considered: the outsourcing of online education. Now that I am thinking about it, I can understand why NV may want to take this approach with their online programs.
ReplyDeleteYou mention that you are learning that it costs just as much to run an online class as it does an on-ground course. I would want to explore this further. One thing that is certain-- the initial start up costs of an online program are massive. The Learning Management System alone can run millions of dollars for an initial license, with hefty annual fees and costly additional- yet necessary- modules. And that is not to mention the additional supporting technology necessary to run the thing! I imagine that although WGU will surely charge the state quite a hefty fee to run their programs, and certainly they too need to pay licensing fees per site/institution, they already have the infrastructure in place to support the LMS and other elements necessary for an online program. If WGU administers the programs, it is safe to say that their costs are less than the cost for a new institution to start from scratch.
Anecdotally, but based on my experience working at a small for-profit institution while we were developing and initially launching online programs, the ROI for an entirely online program can indeed be significantly higher than an on-ground--- when you consider that your customer base just expand exponentially now that you are no longer location-bound. Nevada is a large state and it is a rural state. It is our country’s seventh largest state (by area), and yet it only has 9 regionally accredited institutions of higher education (and this includes community colleges). Of the nine, 6 are in Las Vegas, Reno or the adjacent suburbs. I surmise that Nevada is looking to improve their rankings, and given their state’s geography and other characteristics, is looking to expand access to higher education through online programs. The US Department of Education’s most recent State of the States report (based off data from 2009) shows that Nevada is in the bottom 10 of all states for high school graduates attending college. Nevada is not only lagging behind other states in college degree attainment, but they are also in a particularly troublesome economic state, arguably dead last in terms of overall economic health in our country right now. As such, are looking to address their education deficiencies for as low of cost as possible. Outsourcing may be just the solution they need.
It's so interesting how different blog topics come at the same issue but from different perspectives. The post on the "million students" cites the importance of adding a million students a year for the next several years. The post on the 5th year of high school also underscores the importance of providing access for students. This seems like a related issue - how do we get more people in college while not increasing our (the state's) costs?
ReplyDeleteI'm all for outsourcing education where appropriate. There are truly some classes, and probably some programs, for which an online experience is cheaper, more accessible, and where critical thinking and learning still happen. I like what Braelin said, perhaps outsourcing education can produce the cost savings that Nevada needs.
My experience working with for profit companies who deal with the many facets if higher education, has shown me that combining for profit and education is a tricky balancing act. By its nature it has two main goals, one to educate its students and two to make money; and unfortunately those goals do not always complement each other well. Often times the decision comes down to what is in the best interest of the students and what is in the best interest of the company, and the choice made is determined the by mindset and values of the people or person in charge. If Nevada were to contract out part of its higher education system they might look for some sort of checks and balances system to ensure that the state is being best represented.
ReplyDelete