… what looks to me like a stealth effort on the part of high-ranking administrators there to turn ASU into their own personal for-profit online domain. Here’s the background on the quite astounding story of ASU’s former president – now a professor there as well as (until recently) the president and chairman of an online for-profit educational outfit – who, along with ASU’s interim chancellor, apparently tried to power through a takeover of the faculty for the business.
The faculty have been a bit slow to catch on, but have now passed a “resolution calling for a moratorium on any further involvement with Academic Partnerships until the partnership [can] be investigated…”
You can understand the ex-president’s eagerness, though. Online for-profit is SOOO much better than face-to-face non-profit, he just couldn’t wait to offer its blessings to the youngfolk.
February 8th, 2011 at 6:35AM
According to Collegeresults.org,
Arkansas State University has a four-year graduation rate of 19% and a six-year rate of 39%. Not exactly a good example of a face-to-face non-profit academic institution. 1/3 of the freshmen do not come back for their sophomore year.
February 8th, 2011 at 8:29AM
I don’t say ASU shouldn’t go all online, superdestroyer; I just say that face-to-face is better than online. Certainly if they play it right their grad rate will shoot to 100% with online.
February 9th, 2011 at 6:39AM
I think the false comparison is between the bottom of the barrel for-profit on-line university and a US News Top 100 university. Most people who are using the for-profit on-line route are choosing it as compared to the local third tier open admission university that is poorly run and under funded or maybe the local community college.
I doubt that are many interesting in class discussions at such academic institution either.