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Future of Higher Education: Risk vs Reward

It’s the second biggest piece of the Oklahoma Budget, but
are higher education leaders investing in the past or the future?  Critics of higher ed say Oklahoma is on a
path that is unsustainable and one that fails to take full advantage of online
opportunities.

Representative Jason Murphey, (R) Guthrie, says students
are facing mounting debt just to get a four year degree.  “Over the past 10 years our higher ed
institutions have incurred about a billion dollars in debt and that debt is on
the books for the state.  But it's being
passed along to the students in the form of fees and policies that students
have to use whether or not they need to.”

“Oklahoma, I think, continues to be one of the most
affordable systems of higher education,” said Phil Moss the interim Vice
Chancellor for Academic Affair at the Oklahoma Regents for Higher
Education.  “I think that the national
reports that have come out bear that out.”

The Oklahoma Board of Regents is quick to point out
Oklahoma has been a leader in distance learning and offering online classes.  However many universities add extra fees for
taking a class online.  “There will be
much less cost to the institution by participating in online learning,” Murphey
said, “By not incentivizing it the institutions don't encourage students to do
it.”

Moss says students can request a waiver of some other
fees if they only take courses online, but points out that many students who
sign up for online classes often do also take traditional courses on campus.

Murphey points to a new initiative launched this year by
Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, called edX.  The edX platform allows students from around the
world to take courses from ivy-league schools for free.  The universities say at some point they may
add a nominal fee for getting a certificate for the courses . 

Oklahoma higher education officials say these massively
open online courses lack accountability. 
“When you're dealing with hundreds of thousands of students distributed
around the world making sure that the student who signs up is actually doing
the work and completing the course is a challenge,” Moss told Fox 25. 

The edX courses are also not accredited, which means even
if you complete an course, there is no transcript to give your permanent record
a boost by boasting a Harvard education. 

“I know the regents will point to that, but we know this
new model is coming we know that in the future students will learn valuable
skills through online and distance education,” Murphey said. 

The question is when they go to look for those options, will OU or OSU provide
them at a competitive rate to these other institutions.”

The other issue comes down to cost.  Oklahoma Regents say these courses really are
not free.  “Harvard has invested $30
million to develop their massively open online courses,” Moss said.  The University of Texas recently signed on to
join the edX platform.  Moss says they
invested $5 million.

Murphey says right now the Regents are also investing, in
building empires not in the future of Oklahoma. 
“If the regents keep their head in the sand and fail to adopt to the
changing world then they risk on behalf of the citizens of Oklahoma, they risk
placing higher ed at an incredible disadvantage to the other public and private
institutions that see the way of the future and are adapting.”

Posted: Friday, November 9 2012, 10:03 PM CST