As with just about every other part of society, digital communications
is changing the face of higher education. In fact, no less an authority
than Stanford University President Gerhard Casper has said, that as the
electronic revolution shortens the course of studies and lowers the cost,
educators, students, and taxpayers have to wonder if the physical university
will be worth attending in the future.
Digital classroom instruction has become commonplace at most universities
around the country. As an example, Casper points to medical schools where
CD-ROMs with virtual corpses have replaced real cadavers for anatomical
instruction. There's little doubt, Casper said in a recent annual State
of the University address, that some CD-ROMs are superior to classroom talking
heads. Still, the real impact of digital communication is being felt in
the area of distance learning, where teachers, students, and resources are
dispersed -- not just in location, but also in time. In typical distance-learning
scenarios, students attend courses at universities hundreds or thousands
of miles away. Instead of attending lectures with other bleary-eyed classmates,
distance-learning students attend their classes where and when they want
to. And increasingly, they are using the Internet or BBSs to communicate
with instructors, submit homework, and take exams. The college credits they
earn are just as valid as those granted to their traditional, on-campus
counterparts.
There are those who would argue that for students leaving home for the first
time, the university environment -- from dorm life to football in the fall
-- is often as important as an introduction to, say, Hegel. But Internet-based
distance learning can expand the scope of university programs (especially
at smaller colleges) by providing access to individuals and resources around
the world. With this in mind, perhaps the greatest potential for distance
learning exists for individuals who want (or need) to return to school.
Perhaps you want to hone existing skills -- or acquire new ones -- and don't
have time to attend a traditional university program. Maybe you have the
time, but an acceptable university program isn't conveniently accessible.
Maybe you just enjoy structured learning programs. In such cases, nontraditional
educational programs may be your best option.
In the past, nontraditional education programs were associated with trade-school
correspondence courses advertised on the inside of matchbook covers. Now,
however, independent study programs are offered by most colleges and universities
in the country. Need a few credits to supplement your work with user interfaces?
The Rochester Institute of Technology offers bachelors and masters degrees
by nontraditional methodsvideocassettes, e-mail, cable TV, courses on disk,
and the likein everything from graphic arts to computer science. Want to
pick up some business credits so that you can slide into management? Check
out the MBA programs offered by Syracuse University or the University of
Pittsburgh. Want a masters degree in engineering from Stanford University,
an MS in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or a masters
in mathematics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst? You can
do it, even if you live on the other side of the world.
So where do you go to find out about nontraditional programs offered by
universities? The best place to start is Bear's Guide to Earning College
Degrees Nontraditionally, by John Bear and Mariah Bear. First published
in 1974, this book provides information ranging from equivalency exams to
financial aid. The heart of the book, however, is its descriptions of courses
and programs offered by universities and colleges around the world; see
Example 1.
Pay particular attention to the term accreditation. Reputable school programs
are accredited (validated) by agencies recognized by the U.S. Department
of Education. Among the regional accrediting agencies are the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools. Professional accrediting agencies include the Computer Science
Accreditation Board or the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology.
Accrediting agencies typically evaluate schools or programs on the basis
of their curricula, faculty, facilities, program length, tuition, fees,
academic objectives, credit received, and so on.
Not all programs covered by Bear and Bear are accredited; others have been
accredited by some pretty obscure agencies. Not being accredited doesn't
mean a program isn't any good (it may be too new for accreditation). However,
accreditation does provide you with an official stamp of approval. It is
significant that Bear and Bear devote a 15-page chapter to the subject.
If you're serious about completing a program of study for an advanced degree,
you'll be making a significant investment of time, effort, and money. Investing
your resources in a fly-by-night diploma mill may not pay off in the long
run.
High-Technology Degree Alternatives, by Joel Butler, also devotes
a chapter to the topic of accreditation. Butler, however, only describes
programs accredited by recognized agencies. In general, however, High-Technology
Degree Alternatives is more focused than Bear's Guide. Butler
zeros in on strategies for earning a degree while working. As the title
suggests, he also limits coverage to high-tech careersengineering, programming,
and the like. While Butler's book covers much of the same ground as the
Bears, his discussion of turning company-sponsored training sessions into
college credits, or earning credit from professional certificates and licenses
is particularly valuable if youre already in the work force. And, as you'd
expect from a more narrowly focused book, Butler presents dozens of program
descriptions in a standardized format; see Example 2.
Both books suffer when it comes to timeliness. Distance-learning programs
are rapidly evolving, and books such as these have a difficult time keeping
up. Since new programs come online and existing ones disappear all the time,
you should use these books as a pointer rather than the final word. In particular,
the recent surge in Internet-based programs isn't reflected in either book.
For instance, an art-appreciation course offered by Penn State via the World
Wide Web is not mentioned. Also, I called numerous listings in the Bear
book and found a number of minor discrepancies in phone or fax numbers,
programs offered, and the like. Similarly, there are programs that, for
whatever reason, both books fail to mention. For instance, the University
of Missouri at Columbias Independent Study Program isn't discussed at all.
Offering dozens of courses across all disciplines, the MU program provides
a dial-up BBS for communicating with faculty, submitting homework, and taking
exams. Individual professors at the university are also interacting via
the Internet with students as far away as Germany.
If there's any question in your mind whether or not nontraditional distance
learning works, be assured that it does. One frequent DDJ contributor is
about to finish a PhD through Nova Southeastern University, and hes loved
every minute of it. For my part, I've completed over 30 credits (the equivalent
of a full year of course work) through the aforementioned University of
Missouri Center for Independent Study. I found that when I took the courses
I wanted at my own speed and on my own time, I enjoyed the learning process
much more than in my days as a full-time student.
Stanford's Gerhard Casper was only partially right when he said that the
beauty of the Internet is that it makes it unnecessary for students to travel
long distances. The beauty of digital communication in general, and the
Internet in particular, is that it brings education to students, letting
us explore, learn, and grow in ways that are more meaningful to ourselves.