Straight Talk: March 16, 2011

Straight Talk:  The StraighterLine e-Newsletter Issue #6, March 16, 2011
Edited by Jeffrey Lee Simons

In this issue…

Medical Terminology: 1 of 9 New StraighterLine Courses

Three weeks ago American Council on Education's (ACE) Credit Recommendation Service reviewed and recommended StraighterLine's 9 newest online college courses for credit. Our latest additions will be live for students soon. Click here to be notified the instant they’re available.

  • Anatomy & Physiology I & II both with a lab option
  • Calculo I (Spanish)
  • Calculus II
  • Managerial Accounting
  • Medical Terminology
  • Psychology 

Best of The StraighterLine Blog

Seven Habits of Great Online College Students
What do successful distance learners know that you should too? (Hint: It’s not how to study and watch Jersey Shore at the same time!) Check out Barry Lenson’s column and pick up some great habits of your own. Read Full Post 

Late Bloomer? Learn How to Get Into the College of Your Choice Anyway
Late bloomer Barry Lenson shares his own story and some great advice for getting into the college of your choice even if you’re getting a late start. Read Full Post

Thinking of a Career in Health Care? An Online College Course Can Help You Decide
There’s no shortage of jobs in the health care field. With projected job growth between 14-36%, health care is booming. Find out which jobs are growing fastest and how you can prepare to take advantage of the trend. Read Full Post

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No-Risk Free Trial

Do you ever drift off while reading Moby Dick and daydream about becoming an Accountant? Do you lie awake at night fantasizing about Microeconomics, or, dare we say it, Macroeconomics? Stop wondering and find out with a risk-free trial of one of these 6 StraighterLine courses. You’ve got nothing to lose!

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Online Education in The News

Virtual education boom hits the states
Stateline, The Pew Center on the States, David Harrison, 3/4/11

According to this article from the Pew Center on the States, a leading resource for information on state policy solutions, “A combination of higher proficiency standards and tighter budgets are prompting school officials to look more closely than ever at online education.” All but two states in the US now offer online courses to at least some K-12 students, and “27 states allow students to attend virtual schools full-time.” Read Full Article

Online career-oriented programs fit into busy lives
Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Przybys, 3/6/11

Southern Nevadans looking to retrain or advance their current career aren’t gambling with their futures: they’re turning to online education to get what they need. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Vegas PBS and The College of Southern Nevada each offer online courses. At CSN, the most popular courses are Introductory English and psychology; at UNLV, the online courses with the most interest are "things like medical billing and coding, medical transcription, medical terminology…” At Vegas PBS (the public broadcaster is actually part of the Clark County School District),  “The No. 1 priority in our community right now is putting people back to work…” with courses like casino management. Read Full Article

Online school WGU Indiana seeks its own niche
Evansville Courier & Press, John Martin, 3/6/11 

One of our partner schools, WGU Indiana, is getting some great support these days, including a commercial endorsement from Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. It promotes the online university as a way for people with many life responsibilities to still earn college credit at their own pace. "The real focus is on helping adult learners, people with some college but who didn't get a degree make themselves more marketable," Chancellor Allison Barber said. Read Full Article

Straight Answers: This Week’s StraighterLine Survey Question:

Thanks to everyone who answered last issue’s Survey Question, “Which required college course would you rather take online than in a classroom?” And the winner is: College Algebra, with 43.80% of you saying you’d rather do it online than waste your time sitting in an overcrowded lecture hall as a professor basically reads from the textbook anyway.

Now, on to this week’s question:
Which of StraighterLine’s new courses are you most interested in taking?

Answer the survey here and see how your answer compares to other students – and remember, no matter how popular a StraighterLine course is, there's no such thing as an overcrowded (or closed-out) course.

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Are you an influencer? A networker? Need cash?

Spread the word about StraighterLine on campus. Tell your fellow students they can graduate sooner with less debt – and you can earn commission money for yourself at the same time. Join the StraighterLine Campus rep program today!

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Burck’s Blast: "Education is focused only on expanding access, not increasing value"

Opinion from StraighterLine's founder, Burck Smith

Taken from Keith Hampson’s interview with Burck for the Higher Education Management Group, in answer to the questions, “How do we get the discussion to focus on educational value? Is the growth of new, innovative models in higher education dependent on evidence of educational value?”

In most industries, new technologies increase value to the end-user – improved quality, reduced cost, or both. However, education has focused only on expanding access. Costs to the end-user have actually increased. I find it impossible to have a discussion about quality without also including cost. For instance, a $1000 course with a 90% pass rate has a cost-per-pass of a little over $1100. A $500 course with 75% has $666 cost-per-pass. Which is the better course? In other industries, the dynamics of a free-market typically incorporate the value benefits of new technologies. However, education’s price points have been protected by artificial regulatory barriers created by accreditation, a byzantine articulation system, and significant subsidies in the form of state budget allocations, federal financial aid and grants, and non-profit status. Without a more rigorous discussion about cost and a better definition of what the product is, innovation will remain difficult.