MOOC mashup: San Jose State University — Udacity experiment with online-only courses fizzles

Advocates of this effort will offer all kinds of excuses. They may attempt to blame teachers. They may argue that it is only a pilot program and kinks still need to be worked out or that the data is only preliminary. However, there are real-world, long-term consequences when we “fail fast” in higher education… Dealing with tough economic times by handing off education to private vendors and using public funds to increase online offerings through these vendors will not serve California well in the long run. Politicians’ well-intentioned efforts to increase access for students ignores a proven solution that we know will increase access: investing resources in more class sections. Thanks to rebounding economy, we finally have a chance to begin reinvestment in our public higher education. Let’s invest these public monies in what we know works.

Read full article [here].
by Kell Fujimoto and Elizabeth Cara, The San Jose Mercury News.

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