Moving classes into cyberspace is becoming the norm at accredited four-year and prestigious universities.
An increasing amount of college courses are being offered online via videocasts, iTunes and online publication of course material. Universities such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been further developing this trend to make education more accessible to meet unique student circumstances, but have differed on their implementation. Northwestern offers two graduate degree programs already available online, but is exercising the possibility of bringing these classes to undergraduates.
The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article a few months ago explaining the popular growth of online courses, explaining that increasing educational access trumps all other concerns. The article reported that more than 36 percent of public university faculty members surveyed have already experienced either teaching or developing a course online.
NU is following this mentality, said Ronald Braeutigam, professor of economics and associate provost for undergraduate education.
“It could definitely happen in the next two to three years,” he said of online classes implemented into undergraduate curricula.
NU currently has two graduate degree programs – master’s degrees in Medical Informatics and Public Policy & Administration – available completely online through the School of Continuing Studies.
Assistant Director of Distance Education Caitlin Frano at SCS said these two programs are “parallel to the on-ground version of the degree,” or equivalent to the class taught on campus.
Braeutigam said he is not aware of proposals at the undergraduate level for degrees consisting of fully Web-based coursework, but added that individual classes are on the horizon.
“People have been talking about what other programs can be a good fit for the online classroom,” he said. “But the suggestions have to emanate from the faculty.”
Braeutigam said a class proposed for online instruction must meet two key criteria: curricular desirability and technical feasibility. Classes must have strong curricula that are conducive to an online teaching format. He said the Medical Informatics program was so successful online because of its academic strength and the high demand for the on-ground version.
Other schools like Harvard and MIT have varying levels of available online materials. MIT OpenCourseWare publishes course documents online for more than 1,900 classes that are free and accessible to the general public. MIT indicates on its site that this material cannot be used toward an MIT education, degrees or certificates or to access faculty for office hours.
Harvard offers certain courses online through iTunes that are accessible to paying students. These classes can later be applied toward a Harvard degree.
Although the Chronicle of Higher Education article cites findings from a survey of public colleges that 70 percent of all faculty members believed online courses to be inferior to face-to-face instruction, participating professors recognize the benefits.
Harvard Prof. Jeff Parker said he is asked back year after year, despite offering videos of his lectures, because of a “richness” found only in the classroom.
“When you look at lecture notes, is that the same thing as being there in class?” he asked.Braeutigam stressed virtual classes can also reach students abroad, and could pave the way for more projects like NU’s Qatar campus expansion.
But the initiative would come with challenges like ensuring academic integrity, especially during exams. There would also be a lack of interaction between students, and students and instructors. Braeutigam said professors would not be able to judge students’ comprehension of material by their body language. University resources, such as libraries and advising offices, would also be a loss for online-only students.
“I like to be around other people,” said Medill senior Rachel Lebowitz. “The whole point of school is to number one: learn, and number two: to meet new people who are also doing cool things and to talk to them about it and learn from it.”
Although NU only has two programs available online, Braeutigam said NU’s process has been purposely more controlled.
“We may not have jumped out in front,” he said. “But after hearing of other universities’ costly mistakes, we wanted to make sure our programs would be strong.”
