Please note: On a somewhat infrequent basis, Quintessential Careers asks noted
career experts five questions related to their expertise and publishes the interview
in the current issue of QuintZine,
our biweekly newsletter. Here is one such interview.
Blair Stobaugh is vice president of new business development at Bisk Education.
Q:
What do you feel is the most disturbing trend in distance learning today?
A:
That the so-called diploma mills are giving the entire e-learning
industry a black eye. I think we all have received their spam emails
offering college degrees in six months or from your life experiences.
The degrees offered from these organizations are not worth the paper
they are printed on because a regional accrediting authority does not
accredit the schools offering the degrees.
The leading online degree programs, such as the University Alliance,
differentiate themselves from these diploma mills because all of the
participating schools (Villanova University, Regis University,
Jacksonville University, and Saint Leo University) are regionally
accredited.
When a prospective student researches online degree programs, one of
the first factors he or she needs to confirm is that an online degree
program holds accreditation from one of the regional accrediting
authorities. If a program does not hold accreditation from one of
these agencies, then move on.
Q:
How have the recession and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks affected
distance learning? Has there been an increase in people seeking to
upgrade their skills through distance learning because of the
recession? Has there been an increase in enrollment in programs "for
the greater good" (as opposed to business) because of the terrorist
attacks?
A:
I think the increase in people enrolling in distance-learning
programs started well before the Sept. 11th tragedy. In today's
competitive business world, employees might need to earn a bachelor's
or MBA Degree to move to a higher level or receive a promotion at
their company.
Since the Sept. 11th tragedy, a great number of professionals may
have been laid off and must acquire additional schooling to stay
competitive in the job market. A lot of job advertisements state that
a candidate must have earned a bachelor's or MBA Degree to be
considered for the position. Additionally, employers are offering
tuition reimbursement to employees because it is more beneficial and
cost effective to educate a current employee rather than to hire a
new person for the same position.
For a lot of working professionals, attending a traditional on-campus
program is not a reality because of work schedules, travel distance,
and family or personal commitments that don't allow a person to
attend a regularly scheduled on-campus degree program.
One of the great features of online degree programs like the
University Alliance is that its digitally streamed lectures and
course work are available 24/7 and can be accessed anywhere a student
can log on to the Internet. Students can replay the lectures as many
times as they want, access virtual chat rooms, communicate with their
professor and other students, and take their course tests completely
online.
Q:
Is there something you can share with our readers about distance
learning that may not be widely known?
A:
When a student earns a degree through an University Alliance
school the degree he or she earns is the same exact degree that a
traditional on-campus student receives. There is no small print at
the bottom of the document stating the difference between the online
and traditional student. The online students are taught the same
material from the same professors that instruct the traditional
on-campus students
Most of the University Alliance's students have never set foot on the
campus of their college. Yet when they graduate, students are
encouraged to take part in the traditional commencement exercises
with the rest of the graduating seniors. I have met many University
Alliance school graduates who have traveled across the country just
to celebrate the completion of their course work and take part in the
graduation ceremony.
Q:
The failures of several high-profile distance-learning programs
have been in the news recently. For example, Kendra Mayfield wrote in
a Sept. 2001 issue of WIRED News: "Today, the distance learning
market continues to grow, but much of the momentum has slowed. Many
e-learning startups have gone belly-up, realizing the enormous costs
of launching efficacious courses online." The Chronicle of Higher
Education has reported more recent failures. Do these failures mean
that the promise of distance learning is not to be fulfilled, or did
the failed programs simply have ineffective business models?
A:
The failure of some e-learning companies is more a reflection of
their inadequate business model than any commentary on the promise of
distance learning. The false impression was that if you build a Web
site, students would enroll. Those programs that offer a high-quality
online educational experience still need to advertise, respond to
student inquiries, and provide student services and support. Students
are investing a great deal of time and money in their education, and
they need to have a high comfort level with any specific program
before they enroll. Many of the distance-learning failures did not
even make it to the first enrollment step! The lesson for the student
is to look at programs that have high enrollments. These are the
programs where success speaks for itself.
Q:
Do you foresee a time when distance learning will be the
dominant delivery system for education? Will it ever replace or
at least overshadow traditional classroom learning?
A:
Distance learning fills a tremendous void for the working adult
learner who cannot attend a class each week because of professional
and family commitments. For many working professionals, attending a
weekly class is just not an option. The flexibility of distance
learning provides a unique solution. Within existing classroom-based
programs, distance education can become a part of the class materials
or taken as a stand-alone course. Factors such as individual
learning styles, convenience, location and cost are all factored into
the learners' ultimate choice of learning options.
Blair Stobaugh is vice president of new business development at Bisk
Education.
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