The Redgate Read On Online Learning

•  It will be quicker for me to earn my degree online     

Another fallacy that I have seen, especially when a prospective student is first exploring his or her options, is that completing an online degree will take a lot less time than earning a degree on campus.  The bottom line is that the workload for online classes, in most cases, rivals or exceeds that of traditional brick and mortar, especially with some online schools offering terms of 5 – 8 weeks.  Of course, one may accelerate his or her degree if schedule permits, and there are online schools that offer accelerated programs of study just like their traditional counterparts.  Overall, how quickly one proceeds is determined by the institution, the student’s schedule, the student’s aptitude and academic record, and whether one is able and willing to accept the rigor of accelerated studies.

In the next several posts, I will elaborate on wrong motives or reasons for being an online learner.  As you might learn from reading my blog, I am a proponent of online learning.  From the hallowed halls of our nation’s colleges to the single mom looking to better herself to the 80 year old completing that lifelong goal of earning a degree, online learning has its pedagogical and practical benefits.  At the same time, I have spoken with many students who have wrong motives for wanting to study online.  Here is one of the most prevalent misconceptions that I consistently run across:

• It will be easier for me because I don’t have to go to class — Granted there are convenience and flexibility factors for those studying online and asynchronously – not having to travel, not having to be at class at a specific time, no major disruptions to work, family, civic, and church responsibilities.  But with flexibility comes self-discipline.  There are still semester, sub-term and assignment deadlines.  I posted several months ago on this very subject and how important it is for online students to literally set aside scheduled time to work on their online studies.  I even suggested that within the home, online students should put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign so family members know class is in session.

This article, posted today on Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405786,00.html), is a must read for those of you contemplating earning a degree from an online school.  As I have blogged about before, diploma mills abound and attract thousands of unsuspecting people.    One of my blogs in particular to direct your attention was from last October — Prospective Online Student — Beware!.

 Isn’t this a great time of year?  Fall is right around the corner which means cooler weather, fall foliage for those of us lucky enough to be in region that has it, schools are back in session, and, of course, college football.  I will be heading in just over eleven days to Charlottesville, Virginia to watch my team, the University of Virginia, do battle with the University of Southern California.  We are coming off a good year last year but have lost considerable talent at key positions.  USC just continues to reload.  I hope we can make a game of it.  I will stay optimistic.

Along with the onset of all these great things comes the fact that enrollment and registration for Liberty University Distance Learning Program’s fall subterms is underway.   I continue to be amazed at our enrollment numbers.  We are currently pacing about 45% above where we were same day last year.  Based on our current size that is nothing short of a significant increase. 

I think a good portion of this increase can be attributed to several new initiatives that we have launched in the past few months including lead scoring, better accountability in our lead flow processes, implementation of programs to enhance our students’ experiences, and better communication protocols among our over 500 deployed adjuncts.

One thing I have tried to convey to the highest levels of the university is this: If the rate of external change exceeds the rate of internal change, your business is on the brink of stagnating or declining.  If we are not consistently reengineering ourselves — processes, programs, people — then we will stagnate.  If you are in the online space, let me ask you this question:  “When was the last time you spent concentrated time with your senior leadership or managers looking at what you could do, enterprise wide, to improve?  Your answer will predict where your school is heading.

Liberty University Online Academy is continuing to see increased interest among prospective students and solid enrollment numbers.  We are currently offering start dates monthly so convenience is a consideration.  I anticipate we will continue to see enrollments at a steady pace throughout the year, although if our historical data plays out to be accurate, August and January will be a largest enrollment months.

Another major benefit to our online academy is the fact that the curriculum and academic calendars can be customized to suit the needs of the individual student.  And this really goes to the heart of a major problem facing the U.S. public school system — curricula is monolithic and stardardized.   It doesn’t accomodate the different learning styles of the individual student.   In fact, I have found that learners, at times, become very unmotivated in this scenario.  Now don’t get me wrong, there is still good to be found in our educational system.  My four children received their education in a public school setting and I have a son, a daughter, and a daughter-in-law who are teachers.   My wife and I were satisfied with the education our children received, but we were assertive with them to make the most out of their experiences.

I have heard it summarized this way –  in the 1800s teachers in a one-room schoolhouse would have no problem customizing their approach to each student.  But at the turn of the 19th century, as schools filled up with 30 or 40 kids in a room, standardization became the norm. Schools turned into factories and ever since have resisted all efforts to break from a monolithic batch-process approach.

This is why I feel that computer-based learning, especially for high school students, will become more accepted and prevalent in the next decade.  This attached chart reflects my assumptions.

These online curricula will include a full range of offerings from AP courses, to supplemental curriculum, to full fledged programs like Liberty University Online Academy.   If our educational system is to meet the growing global demands, we must implement a student-centric model which can be best accomplished through innovative online learning.