Online courses and degree programs are exploding onto the educational scene -- including The University of Memphis.
The Tennessee Board of Regents recently announced The U of M -- along with all 18 of the state's other TBR colleges and universities -- will join together to offer five different degree programs entirely online next fall. These schools are currently developing the wide range of courses for the three associate-level degrees and two bachelor-level degrees which will be offered.
The U of M has been offering an online Masters degree in journalism since 1995, and this program is currently the only online degree offered by a Tennessee school.
There are already a small number of undergraduate courses offered at The U of M in online format, but the number of courses is expanding because of the development of TBR's online degree programs.
Dan Lattimore, vice provost of extended programs, said any student at The U of M will be able to take the online courses being developed for the program, even if the student isn't in that particular program.
Lattimore said the extended program department is looking to develop an online Master of Science in Education as well as more undergraduate online courses. He said incentives in the form of extra compensation or computer equipment are offered to faculty to help them develop online formats of their courses.
"This is a giant step forward for Tennesseans who previously have had to 'stop out' of college because of job and family commitments," said Sidney McPhee, TBR Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Frank Leeming, a professor in the Psychology Department, taught an online section of Psychology 1102 last fall.
"One of the criticisms of the whole move towards online education is that there is so little quality control. So far, nobody knows how much students are learning," Leeming said.
Leeming, who completed three online courses about teaching online, had a great experience teaching the course, and is enthusiastic about the opportunities online courses hold.
He created a SIRS form comparable to the one given to traditional classes (omitting the irrelevant questions) and then compared the 1102 online course SIRS ratings to the three previous years of the 1102 in-class SIRS ratings. He found that on every question the ratings were more positive for the online course.
Debra Fitzgerald, a senior psychology major who took the online 1102 class, said she interacted with the other students in the class much more than she would have in a regular classroom setting. Each student in the class was required to read and comment on at least three other students' assignments each week, which are posted on a discussion board.
Fitzgerald, 45, who has recently returned to school full-time, also enjoyed working at her own pace and around her own schedule.
While there are a number of advantages to online courses, especially for non-traditional students with full-time jobs and children, there are also a number of concerns.
James Redmond, chair of the Journalism Department, teaches an on-line graduate course. He said a big problem with online courses is students' misconception the classes are going to be easier. He said often an online course requires a great degree of self-discipline and often requires more reading and writing than a residential class.
Another concern is the impetus behind the move toward online education.
"The driving forces behind it are not better education, they are economies of scale," Redmond said.
The more students a university enrolls in online courses, the more money the University makes without the cost of building more physical classrooms.
