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Hurrah, Suzanne and Bernie!!!! I thought that this was a purely Australian phenomenon. It is reassuring (but even more tragic) that this is an international phenomenon. Students can’t think – and they can’t they write English either. But here’s more bad news: I have been a Visiting Professor at the University of Parma (Master’s in Digital Libraries) and we have enjoyed the contributions of many international experts in this field, and guess what: students cannot write correctly in Slovenian, Czech, French, Norwegian,German, Swedish or Italian either (where these are their home languages). My casual survey continues... When will ‘they’ stop the corporatisation of universities and concentrate on academic matters – like knowledge, for example. Yours in despair Sue Dr Susan Myburgh School of Communication University of South Australia St Bernard's Road Magill SA 5076 ADELAIDE P: 618 8302 4421 F: 618 8302 4745 E: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Except in the case of a few very vocational degrees, university isn't about what you learn on the course, it's about how that learning, how living and studying somewhere new, changes the way you think and who you are. Instead of forcing kids to make binding career choices at 17, higher education is supposed to give students who would benefit from further academic development a bit of space in which to find themselves... But when residential non-vocational degrees for a minority are replaced by hurried part-time vocational ones for the majority, going to university is likely to lose its career-enhancing effect. The academic currency is both debased and over-issued. CRICOS Provider Number 00121B The opinions expressed in this email are mine alone. 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Please consider the environment before printing this email From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of B.G. Sloan Sent: Sunday, 21 November 2010 4:04 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever I was lucky enough to have been born into a family that valued higher education, even though only one of my four grandparents graduated high school. My paternal grandmother didn't even finish grammar school, but all three of her kids (two sons and a daughter) were college grads, and they grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere. My mother's siblings also mostly attended college, even though they were first generation immigrants. My mother retired as a newspaper editor. She taught me all the rules of writing/editing that I ignore/forget today. :-) I agree with Suzanne Stauffer. My mother attended college for just two years. Even now, in her late 80s, I'm sure she knows more than many graduate students. Bernie Sloan --- On Sat, 11/20/10, Suzanne Stauffer <[log in to unmask]> wrote: From: Suzanne Stauffer <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever To: [log in to unmask] Date: Saturday, November 20, 2010, 8:40 AM Thank you, Karen! It's sad when even we accept the too-common equivalence of higher education with vocational training. At the same time, many employers are looking to college graduates because a high school diploma no longer guarantees a minimal level of ability and cultural knowledge. My mother did not attend college, and in high school she concentrated on "secretarial" courses. She knew more about grammar than I do to this day. She also knew more basic facts about history and literature than many of my MLIS students. She could do basic math -- add, subtract, multiply and divide -- in her head, and could convert weights and measurements, as well. Even an undergraduate degree no longer guarantees that. I have too many students in cataloging who do not recognize Greek tragedians such as Euripides, presidents other than the two or three they remember from their own life time, and basic works of Western culture. I shudder (not "shutter," as so many of them would have it) to think what their math skills are like. Suzanne M. Stauffer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor School of Library and Information Science Louisiana State University 275 Coates Hall Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225)578-1461 Fax: (225)578-4581 [log in to unmask] Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? --T.S. Eliot, "Choruses from The Rock" ________________________________ From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum on behalf of Karen Weaver Sent: Thu 11/18/2010 5:58 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever So....uh, should people stop bothering to apply to college next year or drop out now ? What matters most is that they pursued their education and hopefully were successful at it. What they choose to do with it after the fact is not necessarily the same issue or point. For many people today, as in the past, they are the first in their families to even go to college, and for many too, to have completed high school. Guess it would depend on one's perspective. Does everyone think about "job" when they are going to college? I remember years ago working at Columbia University libraries where some of my co-workers had their day/night job at the library - not as "professional" staff either, but had 2-3 other careers going at the same time. Maybe some people just are not used to doing both, i.e. work / education, for some it is the norm, it just takes much longer to get there. cheers, KarenW Karen Weaver, MLS, Electronic Resources Statistician, Duquesne University, Gumberg Library, Pittsburgh PA email: [log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]> / Gmail [log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]> "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." ---Eleanor Roosevelt On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 11:28 AM, Irene Lopatovska <[log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: On a similar(?) note: 17 Million Kids Went To College And Became Waitresses Or Flight Attendants As more students obtain bachelor's degrees, the importance of higher education is getting watered down. In fact, millions of graduates<http://www.businessinsider.com/17-million-kids-went-to-college-and-became-waitresses-or-flight-attendants-2010-11> are settling for underemployment. Richard Vedder of The Chronicles of Higher Education<http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/why-did-17-million-students-go-to-college/27634> writes, "Some 17,000,000 Americans with college degrees<http://www.businessinsider.com/17-million-kids-went-to-college-and-became-waitresses-or-flight-attendants-2010-11> are doing jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics says require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree." These alumns are becoming flight attendants, retail sales people, and even shampooers at hair salons. Read more at: http://www.businessinsider.com/17-million-kids-went-to-college-and-became-waitresses-or-flight-attendants-2010-11 Irene Lopatovska, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pratt SILS 144 w. 14th street, 6th floor New York, NY 10011-7301 http://mysite.pratt.edu/~ilopatov/index.htm [log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]> ________________________________ From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Karen Weaver Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 8:27 PM To: [log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]> Subject: Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever Please excuse any duplication - from the Chronicle / kw "Enrollment in Online Courses Increases at the Highest Rate Ever" http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/enrollment-in-online-courses-increases-at\ -the-highest-rate-ever/28204<http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/enrollment-in-online-courses-increases-at-the-highest-rate-ever/28204> November 16, 2010, 12:01 am By Travis Kaya EXCERPTS BELOW: "Despite predictions that the growth of online education would begin to level off, colleges reported the highest-ever annual increase in online enrollment—more than 21 percent—last year, according to a report on an annual survey of 2,600 higher-education institutions from the Sloan Consortium and the Babson Survey Research Group." "In fall 2009, colleges—including public, nonprofit private, and for-profit private institutions—reported that one million more students were enrolled in at least one Web-based course, bringing the total number of online students to 5.6 million. That unexpected increase—which topped the previous year's 17-percent rise—may have been helped by higher demand for education in a rocky economy and an uptick in the number of colleges adopting online courses." "Although the survey found sustained interest in online courses across all sectors, there was a spike in the number of for-profit institutions—a 20-percent increase over last year—that said online education is critical to their long-term strategies. However, more public colleges than private for-profits—74.9 percent versus 60.5 percent—say it's part of their long-term plans." ... EXCERPTS: ..."Administrators also continue to wrestle with the question of quality in online education. According to the survey report, "Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010," 66 percent of college administrators say that online education is the same as or better than face-to-face classes—a slight decline from last year. Still, Ms. Allen said it appears that more faculty members are warming up to online education as a quality alternative to face-to-face learning and are finding new ways to use the technology." ... Excerpts from the article ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Karen Weaver, MLS Electronic Resources Statistician, Duquesne University, Gumberg Library, Pittsburgh PA email: [log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]> / Gmail: [log in to unmask]<http:[log in to unmask]> "No artist is ahead of his time. He is the time. It is just that others are behind the time."--Martha Graham