11-09-2013, 07:50 PM
In the past, have made a number of claims regarding the future of higher education. Specifically, I have stated that I believed that the future of higher education will contain a mix of traditional classes and AV remote classes shared between peer institutions. I have also stated that I believe that many of these connections will arise out of conference affiliation because they will be funded by conference athletic revenue in an effort to "green-wash" the big business that is college athletics. In doing so, I have bemoaned the fact that the CIC offers some select remote learning classes and the ACCIAC, the ACC counterpart, doesn't.
However, I have recently learned that the groundwork for shared remote classes amongst ACC institutions is already being established by the Colonial Group. Syracuse, Miami (FL), Brandeis, George Washington, and Northeastern are all sharing joint classes through high definition remote viewing technologies. Although SU and Miami are the only ACC members currently participating in the venture, I believe that other colonial group members will soon join. As it stands right now, the Colonial Group consists of 14 members, including 5 ACC members. It is my opinion that once the logistics behind course sharing amongst a critical mass of ACC schools have been figured out, the conference as a whole will be able to quickly embrace the idea with relative ease if necessary. So, in my opinion, the Colonial Group's actions are keeping the ACC on equal footing with the B1G.
This news is especially good for the ACC, which generally consists of private schools and small/medium public schools because private schools and small/medium public schools tend to have fewer course offerings than big state schools. By pooling resources, ACC schools will be able to match the offerings of big state schools, while maintaining the higher quality of education that tends to exist in the ACC. In short and somewhat oversimplified, it will change the equation from cost + offerings v. quality of education to cost v. quality of education, which should benefit most ACC member institutions.
For anyone wondering, the ACC members of the Colonial Group are:
Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Miami, Syracuse, and Boston College.
http://smu.edu/ir/consortium_home_page.htm
Also, here's a link to the SU Office of the Registrar's webpage which mentions the course sharing:
http://syr.edu/registrar/
"New in Spring 2014, Syracuse University is piloting a program to share online undergraduate courses with Colonial Group consortium participating member universities including: Brandeis University; George Washington University; University of Miami; and Northeastern. These courses are not MOOCs, but high-quality, limited enrollment classes of approximately 25-35 students per class. The course sharing program will enable students from across member institutions to expand their courses of study with access to online courses not available at their home institution.
At Syracuse University only full-time upper class students are eligible to participate. SU students will receive transfer credit on their transcript for the completed course, provided the grade is "C" or better. Students are required to discuss how the course will fit with their course of study at Syracuse University with their advisors prior to completing an application."
However, I have recently learned that the groundwork for shared remote classes amongst ACC institutions is already being established by the Colonial Group. Syracuse, Miami (FL), Brandeis, George Washington, and Northeastern are all sharing joint classes through high definition remote viewing technologies. Although SU and Miami are the only ACC members currently participating in the venture, I believe that other colonial group members will soon join. As it stands right now, the Colonial Group consists of 14 members, including 5 ACC members. It is my opinion that once the logistics behind course sharing amongst a critical mass of ACC schools have been figured out, the conference as a whole will be able to quickly embrace the idea with relative ease if necessary. So, in my opinion, the Colonial Group's actions are keeping the ACC on equal footing with the B1G.
This news is especially good for the ACC, which generally consists of private schools and small/medium public schools because private schools and small/medium public schools tend to have fewer course offerings than big state schools. By pooling resources, ACC schools will be able to match the offerings of big state schools, while maintaining the higher quality of education that tends to exist in the ACC. In short and somewhat oversimplified, it will change the equation from cost + offerings v. quality of education to cost v. quality of education, which should benefit most ACC member institutions.
For anyone wondering, the ACC members of the Colonial Group are:
Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Miami, Syracuse, and Boston College.
http://smu.edu/ir/consortium_home_page.htm
Also, here's a link to the SU Office of the Registrar's webpage which mentions the course sharing:
http://syr.edu/registrar/
"New in Spring 2014, Syracuse University is piloting a program to share online undergraduate courses with Colonial Group consortium participating member universities including: Brandeis University; George Washington University; University of Miami; and Northeastern. These courses are not MOOCs, but high-quality, limited enrollment classes of approximately 25-35 students per class. The course sharing program will enable students from across member institutions to expand their courses of study with access to online courses not available at their home institution.
At Syracuse University only full-time upper class students are eligible to participate. SU students will receive transfer credit on their transcript for the completed course, provided the grade is "C" or better. Students are required to discuss how the course will fit with their course of study at Syracuse University with their advisors prior to completing an application."