Online education

I recently saw a story that some college teachers are fearful of online education. Here are my thoughts from the corporate world.

Online education should worry teachers. It can disconnect the students not just from the campus life but from geographic concerns too.

People can take years to get a legitimate degree, while some online programs offer advanced degrees in a year or less.

Online "diploma mills" already impact the value of a degree, as people who have received or claimed an online degree are advanced quicker.

I know of cases where neither the existence of a degree nor credentials of the online university were checked.

One person got a promotion at a college using a degree based in part on "life experience".

Consider that Call Centers can be moved to lower cost states and counties with a sometimes significant loss in quality.

Some companies are willing to give up the quality to save money or offer 24/7 service, as long as customers acccept the lower quality.

As long as employers do not know to care about the quality of an on-line degree it should be expected that the cost will be primary factor.

The strengths of a traditional campus will generally be secondary for an older student, if quality isn't percieved as an important concern.

Cheaper and faster online degrees are probably not good for teachers at "brick and mortar" campuses.