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JediTrilobite

29 karma · joined February 23, 2015

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JediTrilobite··on Ask HN: Why aren't there many credible online bachelors programs?
I used to work in the higher-education field for a respected private university, and I think I know part of the answer to this: institutional momentum.

This university launched an online MBA program early on, and built it out with a bunch of other offerings as well. We were genuinely ahead of the curve on a bunch of things, but we were also pretty separated from the rest of the university, physically and culturally. We had our own building removed from campus, and we did things a little differently. Not quite Silicon Valley agile, but comparatively. Meanwhile, the rest of the campus was adamantly against online learning, for years.

I think a big part of this is that we had an older faculty and institutional culture that was pretty set in its ways: they didn't see or recognize the value that the internet afforded their classrooms, and weren't set up to implement them. That's begun to change a bit as we got younger faculty, but there's still a tendency towards in-person learning, because of the tradition and training behind it.

I don't think this is necessarily malevolent on their part: they just haven't thought deeply about it. Plus, there's a lot of infrastructure that you'd have to build out to provide online learning: there are a lot of logistical obstacles in the way. You need to select a CMS, hire course developers, train reluctant faculty and staff, figure out how to make it accessible and ADA-compliant, design courses that make sense for online learning, then market to students who are willing to go up online to take their classes.

Those are a lot of hurtles to overcome for an institution, and it requires a lot of willpower and political wrangling within the institution in order to make sure it gets done. As a result... it just doesn't. I think it'll change with time, but it's like turning an aircraft carrier: you can't do it overnight.

JediTrilobite··on Ask HN: What are the underrated newsletters you like reading?
I really like Eliot Peper's Reading Recommendations, where he recommends a handful of books once a month: https://www.eliotpeper.com/p/inner-circle.html

I've also been writing one for a bit over a year now that might be of interest to HN readers: Reading List, which I use for science fiction / fantasy storytelling commentary, reviews, and news: https://andrewliptak.substack.com/