More and more online courses are available at Indiana colleges and universities, and I've noticed Gov. Daniels has been all over TV lately with ads touting WGU Indiana, the state's newest university, which offers more than 50 accredited online bachelor's and master's programs. Somebody had better start ramping up the pitch a little, because the public apparently isn't buying it.
Delivering courses in cyberclassrooms has gained broad acceptance among top college leaders, but the general public is far less convinced of online education's quality, according to new survey data released this week by the Pew Research Center, in association with The Chronicle.
Just over half of the 1,055 college presidents queried believe that online courses offer a value to students that equals a traditional classroom's. By contrast, only 29 percent of 2,142 adult Americans thought online education measured up to traditional teaching. The presidents' survey included leaders of two-year and four-year private, public, and for-profit colleges and was conducted online. The public survey was conducted by telephone.
The gauge of differing perceptions comes at a critical moment for online education. Just 10 years ago, few colleges took teaching onto the Internet, and skepticism about the practice was the norm among professors and university leaders.
Now many studies have proved the effectiveness of online instruction, and colleges trying to cut costs and serve students who want more convenient options are embracing this form of teaching.
I'm not sure the public's acceptance is lacking just because people doubt the effectiveness of online study. The cost is surely a factor as well. The basic tuitition at WGU Indiana is$2,890 per term. Yes, that's a substantial savings compared to the rates of other Indiana schools, but it's still a big chunk of change.
I suspect some people will never accept online schooling -- it you don't go to the building and sit down in a classroom with a teacher in front of you, it's not the real thing. But the Next Big Thing -- widespread use of holographic display technology -- could change that.
