College for $99 a Month

[FarCenter]

The next generation of online education could be great for students—and catastrophic for universities.
by Kevin Carey
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/feature/college_for_99_a_month.php

Like millions of other Americans, Barbara Solvig lost her job this year. A fifty-year-old mother of three, Solvig had taken college courses at Northeastern Illinois University years ago, but never earned a degree. Ever since, she had been forced to settle for less money than coworkers with similar jobs who had bachelor’s degrees. So when she was laid off from a human resources position at a Chicago-area hospital in January, she knew the time had come to finally get her own credential. Doing that wasn’t going to be easy, because four-year degrees typically require two luxuries Solvig didn’t have: years of time out of the workforce, and a great deal of money.

Luckily for Solvig, there were new options available. She went online looking for something that fit her wallet and her time horizon, and an ad caught her eye: a company called StraighterLine was offering online courses in subjects like accounting, statistics, and math. This was hardly unusual—hundreds of institutions are online hawking degrees. But one thing about StraighterLine stood out: it offered as many courses as she wanted for a flat rate of $99 a month. “It sounds like a scam,” Solvig thought—she’d run into a lot of shady companies and hard-sell tactics on the Internet. But for $99, why not take a risk?

Solvig threw herself into the work, studying up to eighteen hours a day. And contrary to expectations, the courses turned out to be just what she was looking for. Every morning she would sit down at her kitchen table and log on to a Web site where she could access course materials, read text, watch videos, listen to podcasts, work through problem sets, and take exams. Online study groups were available where she could collaborate with other students via listserv and instant messaging. StraighterLine courses were designed and overseen by professors with PhDs, and she was assigned a course adviser who was available by e-mail. And if Solvig got stuck and needed help, real live tutors were available at any time, day or night, just a mouse click away.

Crucially for Solvig—who needed to get back into the workforce as soon as possible—StraighterLine let students move through courses as quickly or slowly as they chose. Once a course was finished, Solvig could move on to the next one, without paying more. In less than two months, she had finished four complete courses, for less than $200 total. The same courses would have cost her over $2,700 at Northeastern Illinois, $4,200 at Kaplan University, $6,300 at the University of Phoenix, and roughly the gross domestic product of a small Central American nation at an elite private university. They also would have taken two or three times as long to complete.

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[stray cat]

1. death for community colleges actually - as they exist for this type of back to school degrees

also tough for any body who teaches for a living - as all you need is a computer network and programs. I wonder how long before the GOP uses it as a reason to get rid of public schools for grades 7-12 - no expenses for buildings, busing, free lunches, or teachers.

[formercia]

5. It's called home schooling.

The crazies indoctrinate their spawn by isolating them from public schools.

[imdjh]

6. We have Virtual Classroom in Florida. There is still a real teacher. And Com Colleges should adapt.

I have no idea how many students she has, but she's definitely real because it's a course requirement that you speak with her from time to time, and that parents speak with her from time to time.

The Community Colleges, most of them have become or become affiliated with four year institutions now, have adapted to that degree and could stand to adapt some more.

I say that because I was looking into getting into nursing as a retirement career, and it's very old fashioned the way they have it set up. You pretty much have to be a full time student with no other major commitments during that period.

[stray cat]

8. Nursing is a bit tough because some training is practicum style but general ed courses

should be doable on line and I think at some places they transfer. However, with online schools there is a need for alot fewer teachers.

[imdjh]

18. It's not just nursing, some PROFESSORS make it hard to work.

To work any job that pays slightly more than peanuts, you generally have to have a regular schedule which permits you to work the same hours every day. Part of the "old school" way of doing things, because a student shouldn't be working anyway, is to have a class that meets on T and H from 11-12 but has a lab on F from 4-6. That's messed up.

When I was in college, I didn't work. I had classes anywhere from 8 am (dreaded) to 7 PM spread over miles and miles of campus- just so I could graduate on time. That's messed up.

[Juche]

2. Nice

College is expensive, but it has a lot of benefits that have nothing to do with the courses though. When I graduated I was 24k in debt. Given the chance to take courses online at home instead of at college in a college atmosphere and having less debt, I would've chosen the debt instead.

For me college gave me tons of personal growth and chances to socialize, learn interesting things outside of class and meet interesting people. Those things alone were worth the debt (which is almost totally paid off already).

[girl gone mad]

14. I think younger generations may look at it differently..

since so many young people are used to socializing a great deal online. My son plays with the neighbors online as well as in person. He has never complained of feeling lonely and I often have to really push him to get out of the house. It's the same for many of his friends. The internet social scene is pretty elaborate these days. One program he uses allows groups to watch movies in a virtual movie theater. It's sort of like Rocky Horror on the internet. With the proliferation of web cams, voip, and similar tools I think someone could have an online educational experience on par socially with what most colleges offer.

Maybe it's easy for me to say that because, unlike you, I never felt like I was getting all that much out of college lectures and the social interactions were not that stimulating. I was a Physics major, though. Often the only female in my classes. The students who performed consistently best were usually the least social. I got more friendship and fun experiences just out of joining the local theater group and chess club.

[imdjh]

3. $6300 for "university" of Phoenix? No wonder they can afford continuous ads. nt

[Raineyb]

16. 6300 for four classes?

What a rip off! I'm paying 1750 for 4 classes this semester (They just raised tuition)

As much as I like my internet, there are some thing I'd just as soon do in person. I like going to class and having a teacher to interact with in person.

[formercia]

4. But, are the credits transferable to another University?

I think online courses are a great idea if the credits are recognized by other schools.

[FarCenter]

13. They partner with four other schools that accept their courses for credit

Fort Hays in Kansas,
Charter Oak State College in Connecticut,
Lake City in Florida, and
Potomac in DC.

You can get credit for the courses at one of these, and then transfer the credits to other institutions.

That said, you probably can't get credit for them at Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. But if you could get into those schools, you wouldn't be considering this route anyway.

Some of their courses give you college credit for the same type of subject matter that high school student receive Advanced Placement credits for in college programs. Colleges vary in whether they give you credit toward our degree for AP courses or tests, or whether they just let you start your college program with more advanced courses.

[mdavies013]

7. There are 10 classes offered and no path to a degree...may be helpful if you are looking to knock a

few classes off the required list.

[imdjh]

9. Part of the problem is corporatism, in government as well. Degrees are simply not needed ....

Degrees are simply not needed for most jobs. They aren't even helpful for most jobs. One of the most amazing things in this country (and presumably elsewhere) is a corporation started by a man with a high school diploma whose hiring and promotions have been taken over by HR hacks who require underlings to have more education than the founder did.

[girl gone mad]

15. I know a few of those..

Microsoft, Dell, Oracle, Virgin. It's interesting that a lot of the people at the top figured out how to game the system at an early age but these companies demand that their employees conform to the system. It isn't really hard to figure out why.

[FarCenter]

10. Yes, they look like either freshman courses or pre-reqs for college courses

Probably better for older students than for students going straight from high school to college.

Also, even if they didn;t transfer, you could take these as refreshers and then take a bigger load in a community college without jeopardizing your GPA.

[abumbyanyothername]

11. These guys have a good idea but . . .

they need to take it to the next level.

I would love to get a degree in nutrition (I already have a BA and a JD), but of course they aren't offering that. I am loathe to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the degree, because I am pretty sure I already have better information than those teaching the courses. I don't need information, I need credentials.

:)

[Lisa0825]

12. Open education is a trend I hope will continue.

I hope eventually you will be able to get good degrees much more cheaply. In addition to this type of company, Academic Earth and MIT OpenCourseWare offer free lectures and courses, but not credits.

[Jkid]

17. The only way the public universities will survive is to abolish tuition rates.

Universal Single Payer Higher Education, if it's possible for health care and public schools, we can do it for public universities.