Online education making other colleges obsolete? (to buy, school, universities)

[Rozi30213]

Yuck to GSU merging with UGA.. I hope to never see this happen during my lifetime...leave GSU alone and focus on the smaller under performing schools such as Atlanta Metro, Clark or do I dare say Morris Brown......

[dichloromethane]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

I just think that we should seriously rethink how we offer courses. You might not like online education but we are increasing becoming a society of viewing stuff online be it videos or even text. And as this here is evidence of communicating on boards and there are other forms of online interaction. Socializing and discussing online is much more convenient and can bring more opinions. You are sounding a bit like the "I prefer books over ebooks!" type of person but the times "they are a changin'".

Myself, I prefer online lectures as I can stop and repeat something and I can view it on my schedule. Classes can meet but they can be for discussion and questions. I like the attitude in that article of "experimentation" with this style of teaching as I've seen attempts in the past with the idea of dictating a new way of teaching. Despite years of work, I don't think we have "teaching" down yet. It just seems silly to me to sit in class and have the prof write stuff on the board and I just copy what he has just written. Then the prof seems irritated that we aren't keeping up with the content because we are too busy copying. For "heavy" material, that's tough to do. It's much easier to keep up with the content in say a film class. I think it makes more sense to use class time for things that require interaction. If it's mostly lecture...put it online.

The class lecture is an old model that we are clinging to. We don't expect the prof to write the book so why should he do a lecture that perhaps is done better by someone gifted at it? I've watched some MIT online lectures and really, they are better than any lecturer at GT I've had. Like we do with textbooks, let someone else skilled at it do the lecture. The prof can then offer supplementary talks and entertain student questions.

As for a GSU and Atlanta Metropolitan merger, really, I think you just have to finish high school to get into AMC. AMC is way too low academically. Only a merger with GPC makes sense as it is also a 4-year school with similar academics.

HBCUs like Fort Valley, Albany State, and Savannah State should be merged with their respective neighboring schools but naturally it is a political issue.

And Fort Valley and Macon State are towns apart, about 25 miles.

Nonsense. We ought to use both, physical books and online resources in the classroom. I'll leave you with my reply in a simple straightforward phrase: Ask any student what he thinks about powerpoints.

Regarding more mergers, what if we merged HBCUs together? For example, Morehouse and Clark U. Both schools are similar academically. Clark Atlanta has been struggling for a while. I don't think that struggle will suddenly go away once we go off the fiscal cliff.

I don't know about the cultural history of these schools, but I think HBCUs merging with other HBCUs wouldn't be such a bad thing.

As for the USG, there are still very many merging possibilities. None of them involve big schools except a GSU-Atlanta Metropolitan merger. Smaller south Georgia schools ought to combine and utilize each others resources, more importantly leaving more resources for the big research Us.

We'll need our big four fortified in anyway we can. Especially for this looming fiscal cliff.

Rozi, agreed. Merging GSU with UGA sounds good on a map, not much elsewhere. We definitely need to improve GSU, but I think if we save even just a few millions from the excess administration that in itself will help GSU's budget.

Morris Brown is a good candidate.

[AcidSnake]

The only danger to GSU's budget is from buying huge old unnecessary buildings like Suntrust and having way too many over-paid administrators who don't factor into the day-to-day lives of students.

Also I don't see a merger doing GSU any good. It's okay on its own as far as I'm concerned.

Originally Posted by dichloromethane

Nonsense. We ought to use both, physical books and online resources in the classroom. I'll leave you with my reply in a simple straightforward phrase: Ask any student what he thinks about powerpoints.

Regarding more mergers, what if we merged HBCUs together? For example, Morehouse and Clark U. Both schools are similar academically. Clark Atlanta has been struggling for a while. I don't think that struggle will suddenly go away once we go off the fiscal cliff.

I don't know about the cultural history of these schools, but I think HBCUs merging with other HBCUs wouldn't be such a bad thing.

As for the USG, there are still very many merging possibilities. None of them involve big schools except a GSU-Atlanta Metropolitan merger. Smaller south Georgia schools ought to combine and utilize each others resources, more importantly leaving more resources for the big research Us.

We'll need our big four fortified in anyway we can. Especially for this looming fiscal cliff.

Rozi, agreed. Merging GSU with UGA sounds good on a map, not much elsewhere. We definitely need to improve GSU, but I think if we save even just a few millions from the excess administration that in itself will help GSU's budget.

Morris Brown is a good candidate.

[dichloromethane]

The only merger I would be totally for in case of any research universities merging(really codename for buying out) is GSU-GGC.

Our focus should be on these schools that bleed money, graduate a few and produce little. This cliff isn't going to be very nice for us here in the USG.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by dichloromethane

Nonsense. We ought to use both, physical books and online resources in the classroom. I'll leave you with my reply in a simple straightforward phrase: Ask any student what he thinks about powerpoints.

I like PowerPoints because they are downloadable class notes. And physical books are soaring in costs to over $200 in some cases. We are going ebooks, electures, and enotes. Get used to it.

Regarding more mergers, what if we merged HBCUs together? For example, Morehouse and Clark U. Both schools are similar academically. Clark Atlanta has been struggling for a while. I don't think that struggle will suddenly go away once we go off the fiscal cliff.

Impossible. Morehouse give up its identity? Morris Brown should close and go away so Atlanta can concentrate on the other HBCUs.

I don't know about the cultural history of these schools, but I think HBCUs merging with other HBCUs wouldn't be such a bad thing.

The schools are deep with pride regardless. Why do you think Morris Brown has been clinging on when any other school would have folded years ago.

As for the USG, there are still very many merging possibilities. None of them involve big schools except a GSU-Atlanta Metropolitan merger. Smaller south Georgia schools ought to combine and utilize each others resources, more importantly leaving more resources for the big research Us.

GSU-AMC don't fit. It should be AMC-GPC.

Morris Brown is a good candidate.

A good candidate for what? Morris Brown should be closed and its assets sold off to pay off its creditors what it can.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by AcidSnake

The only danger to GSU's budget is from buying huge old unnecessary buildings like Suntrust

I think GSU used a huge chunk of its sale of the North Avenue Apartments (formerly GSU Village) to pay for the Sun Trust building.

and having way too many over-paid administrators who don't factor into the day-to-day lives of students.

That's partly what is behind the mergers. But I agree that USG universities are bloated with too much staff.

Also I don't see a merger doing GSU any good. It's okay on its own as far as I'm concerned.

I'd like to see GSU be more comprehensive and include engineering but the only way that could be feasible is to merge with Southern Polytechnic.

[Rozi30213]

I keep reading we are bloated with too much staff? We just had a reduction in staff two months ago. We are under-paid and overworked. We are also short staffed and many haven't a seen a raise in give years. Not sure what else can be done unless you cut the professors pay and stop buying buildings...

[dichloromethane]

Originally Posted by Rozi30213

I keep reading we are bloated with too much staff? We just had a reduction in staff two months ago. We are under-paid and overworked. We are also short staffed and many haven't a seen a raise in give years. Not sure what else can be done unless you cut the professors pay and stop buying buildings...

Actually, tenured faculty salaries have been on the upswing at research universities...and also the salary of "administration"

Does anyone else miss the days when a dean's position was shared by all faculty members? It was sort of like employee of the month.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by Rozi30213

I keep reading we are bloated with too much staff? We just had a reduction in staff two months ago. We are under-paid and overworked. We are also short staffed and many haven't a seen a raise in give years. Not sure what else can be done unless you cut the professors pay and stop buying buildings...

Universities have a lot of specialized staff that aren't really necessary. They have offices of Diversity, and Sustainability. Libraries are adding User Experience librarians. We were doing fine without these things when I was in school. And CH2Cl2 is right as schools are piling on the deans and other high level staff. In some cases I think schools are letting lower staff go so they can put together the money to pay for new higher level staff. There is a reason why college costs have risen faster than the rate of inflation and the above is one of the reasons.

[AcidSnake]

You really haven't looked deep into this area have you?

Do you work at Georgia State University?

Here is what I suggest you do. Look at every uppity too-good-to-speak-to-the-little-guy arrogant administrator you come across. See what they do with their daily work-life at GSU. Ask yourself if these folks have anything to do what-so-ever with the day-to-day school lives of the students. And then write down their names. After that, go here:

Open.Georgia.gov

Believe me, when you see what most of these do-nothing high-level administrators make, you will be just like me, wondering why the state legislators all too often go after the janitors, police, security, and maintenance workers, but never go after the top dogs.

It is some doggone feudalism that's at work here.

A lot of these administrators are so far removed from the students, and yet somehow they are justified these huge upper-level 6-digit salaries. I just don't get it.

I know so many regular working guys who got screwed over when they spoke out and complained about the favoritism, the good ol' boy network, and discrimination here...only to end up with a big target on their backs when the cutbacks came a-calling.

And it has nothing to do with budget. None at all.

Because if that was the case, how the heck do they keep finding millions and millions of dollars to buy new buildings, many of which are more costly to keep rather than to simply tear-down and rebuild from scratch? Why do they keep re-opening new positions the next day after the cutbacks?

That's why I really feel that our local corporate media is pure garbage for not looking into this stuff.

Originally Posted by Rozi30213

I keep reading we are bloated with too much staff? We just had a reduction in staff two months ago. We are under-paid and overworked. We are also short staffed and many haven't a seen a raise in give years. Not sure what else can be done unless you cut the professors pay and stop buying buildings...