Disturbing Trends in College Education
Now that most of the college students are back on campus, we can reflect on a few long-term trends. These come from a couple of different surveys from the Pew Research Center. First, 51% of college presidents say that online courses provide an educational value equal to that of traditional courses taught in a classroom or lecture hall. Only 29% of people agree. Second, whereas half of women college graduates report that college offers good value for the investment, only 37% of male college graduates do. That more women graduate from college these days than men in the first place suggests that the sexes are even more divided on the question of the value of college. Third, 55% of college presidents say that plagiarism is up over the last ten years. The overwhelming consensus (89%) puts the blame largely on expanded use of computers and the Internet. Beyond what these surveys indicate at face value, what are we to make of these developments?
The opinion of college presidents with respect to online courses seems to me to tell us a lot more about college presidents than the Internet and education. Most people see a clear difference between actually being in a classroom with a professor and students on the one hand and trying to recreate that experience online on the other. The difference seems obvious. I know a young woman whose fiancé was stationed overseas. They would have dinner together at least once a week on Skype. Does anyone think they would not have preferred to be actually eating together? College presidents, I suspect, are looking more at the numbers. The college can hire fewer professors, reach more students, and thus make more money. I also imagine that too many college presidents are the people at their institutions least able to see and therefore least capable of articulating the value of traditional learning. Such is the reality of the modern college administration, with only a few important exceptions.
Why are women more likely to see a greater value in college than men? It is true that we are experiencing today a crisis in manhood—a theme I hope to address more over the coming months. The most recent exploration of this topic is Kay Hymowitz’s Manning Up. So there can be no doubt that many young men these days are not mature enough to realize the value of learning even as it relates to higher earning potential, much less study for its own sake. At the same time, has not college—much like the schools—failed men by providing environments that are either overtly or covertly hostile to anything remotely masculine? The leading disciplines in the humanities are simply anti-male. Most history classes are taught from the perspective of “history from the bottom up.” In other words, elite white males oppressed all “others” (in race, class, gender), so let’s study how these various and sundry others coped with their circumstances. Out go war and politics. In English classes, it’s much the same, although likely more radical. “Queer theory” (not my phrase) is still, I believe, a hot topic in leading English departments. How many eighteen-year-old males—many of them athletes and the rest spending a considerable amount of time in the gym (and actively pursuing female companionship)—want to discuss homosexual characters (or perceived homosexual characters) in literature? In fact, who does?
Finally, what about this plagiarism business? On this question, I should really like some insight from the college students. True, the Internet allows a ready-made paper to be a Google search away. (It is also easier for professors to catch plagiarists,) But can that be the whole story? In the first instance, most students come to college wholly unprepared to write a paper of any kind because the schools have not taught them how. When students ask “how long” a paper must be (as they invariably do) and the professor says “5-7 pages,” they gasp. Thus, many students don’t know how to get started, put the paper off for a long time, then panic at the last minute. Second, I wonder also about the character of those doing the plagiarizing and the institutions responsible for building that character. It is true that all schools and colleges have policies against cheating. Some have an honor code. But do these educational institutions really do anything to inculcate honor other than saying “don’t cheat”? When Robert E. Lee as president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee) said, “We have but one rule here, that every student is a gentleman,” everyone knew what that meant. Does anyone know what honor means today? Do educational institutions teach honor? I am reminded of an anecdote told by Christina Hoff Sommers. She taught moral philosophy, and a colleague of hers did also. The difference was that Professor Sommers taught a traditional Aristotle-based course in what is now called “virtue ethics.” Her colleague taught a Nietzschean-derived “values clarification” class that amounted to moral relativism. When the students of the other professor’s class turned in their papers, over half had cheated. And the professor was surprised!
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Comments:
Mar '11
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
Blaming cheating and plagiarism on the Internet is a dishonest copout. The Internet makes it easier to cheat, to be sure, but the blame for cheating belongs where it always has: the cheaters. The problem isn't the Internet. The problem is a culture, especially among the young, that encourages cheating. So the "overwhelming consensus" does not speak well of our country.
Edited on September 3, 2011 at 6:31pmJun '10
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
Online courses have many advantages. The obvious one is that no student can hide and be a slacker. All must post commentary/reactions to the ongoing discussion, teacher's lectures, and other students' assignments. Given the unfortunate trend at today's colleges of offering course schedules that accomodate the shrinking work hours of professors and the lazy habits of students it can be quite impossible to fit in the required courses in four years. Online course flexibility is a wonderful plus for busy college students trying to juggle coursework, internships, & jobs.
(There really is no comparison between romantic dinner dates and college courses, unless the students and professors are planning to get cozy with each other. Let's hope that's not the case!)
Jan '11
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
It’s easy to find numerous comments on grades inflation and tolerance of sloppy writing (and thinking), but where’s the surprise? Sad to say, institutions of higher learning have become businesses first and contemplative, learning venues second. Tolerance of academic inadequacy or even failure appears to be consistent with the new higher education business model. Under what other circumstances could Obama set a college for everyone goal; what is meant to be accomplished by such a strategy, and what would such institutions look like?
Consider what has happened to once picturesque campuses: new bricks and mortar architectural forms unfamiliar to a classical collegiate environment, but perfectly suitable for a corporation headquarters, or a manufacturing entity.
Oct '10
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
I found this article by Thomas Bertonneau an enlightening look at plagiarism on the contemporary campus and its causes. “More and more students go to college; fewer and fewer of them are actually capable of rising to the higher learning.”
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
The most recent figures from WM are from fall of 2010, and they indicate that 17 people were charged for cheating, eight of which were for plagiarism. The last time the Honor Council's site was updated, six charged with plagiarism had been found guilty, with two other verdicts pending. This of course does not include those who don't get caught, plus any cases that get handled "out of court" between professors and students, and are never reported. I have no idea how widespread a problem it is here, but can say that the social climate here strongly discourages this sort of behavior. As for the concept of Honor, the College continues to appeal to Jefferson's 1779 Honor Code that is still in force, except that the Dean recently stated publicly that the notion of self-sustaining honor is "quaint." My concern is that people might be more worried about what happens to them if they get caught rather than the unethical nature of their own actions.
Sep '11
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
What about the culpability of the campus itself and the fact that colleges benefit financially from failing students for plagerism? I've known of two students attending different universities who've been accused of plagerism. For one, the assignment was to write a paper using only verifiable facts gleaned from internet sites - not position papers. When called in, both were told that although no word for word plagerism was found, their writing was too close to that found on the internet. One was told that she should have put more of her personal opinion in the paper, although that was counter to the instructions given. One student had to go before a panel of professors to appeal the plagerism charge and the other before a student/professor appeals board. Neither student was vindicated of the plagerism charge, even though once again they were told that no one could prove actual plagerism. They failed the classes and had to re-take them, at expensive universities, even though they both had A/B averages going into the paper-writing incident.
Edited on September 3, 2011 at 8:50pmSep '11
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
What about the culpability of the campus itself and the fact that colleges benefit financially from failing students for plagerism? I've known of two students attending different universities who've been accused of plagerisism. For one, the assignment was to write a paper using only verifiable facts gleaned from internet sites - not position papers. When called in, both were told that although no word for word plagerism was found, their writing was too close to that found on the internet. One was told that she should have put more of her personal opinion in the paper, although that was counter to the instructions given. One student had to go before a panel of professors to appeal the plagerism charge and the other before a student/professor appeals board. Neither student was vindicated of the plagerism charge, even though once again they were told that no one could prove actual plagerism. They failed the classes and had to re-take them, at expensive universities, even though they both had A/B averages going into the paper-writing incident.
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
Those statistics at William & Mary are in fact not terribly alarming. At Hillsdale, I have had only one instance of plagiarism in three years--and there is a solid honor code in place. I am sure the Sage of Monticello would be happy to know that his "quaint" ideas of honor are still at least tenuously in place.
Jul '10
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
Anon: It’s easy to find numerous comments on grades inflation and tolerance of sloppy writing (and thinking) ... Sad to say, institutions of higher learning have become businesses first and contemplative, learning venues second.
I once taught a business course offered to working students whose companies were footing the bill. Prior to the start of the semester we were instructed in the hows and whys of grading. No grade lower than a B was to be given to any student. When asked if a B should be given to someone who didn’t attend classes, failed to do assigned work, or failed the exams, we instructors were treated to the following:
It wouldn’t be in the best interest of the university to fail a student because they’re working and their time is limited. And B’s are preferable because their companies are paying and wouldn’t like it if they had to pay for a C or a D. Moreover, they would think twice before sending any other students to that class.
That loud sound you just heard was the still-echoing thud of our heads hitting our desk tops…
I declined to teach the next semester.
Oct '10
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
That's probably true, but it's a flawed analogy. Whether they ate together or on Skype, the nutritional value of their meals would be unaffected.
Mar '11
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
I think the issues of cheating are incidental to the entire problem of college.
Why do people go to college? Because they've been told it's the only way they'll get job that pays a good wage and doesn't require manual labor. So, except for a few actual trades, or pathways to trades (medicine, engineering, law, science, education), college is just 4 more years of high school. You can't get hired without a degree, but I think most people have figured out that once you've landed that first job, you never need your college education again. It's an economic decision - get through with a minimum of work.
I think all but the most committed "studies" majors would agree that their degrees are commercially worthless unless they stay in academia. More traditional liberal arts degrees fare little better. So why do the work? College is just a path to a job.
Aug '11
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
While a student at a major university, my offspring spent many hours employed as a tutor. He has shared his concern regarding the lack of writing skills and basic understanding of fundamentals that should have been learned in grade school. He doesn't entirely blame the students knowing that they probably had the type of teachers he had while in high school. More than once he had teachers set up the TV, put in a Hollywood-version movie about an historical event (usually filled with inaccuracies) and take off while the TV babysitted the students. The kids learn it's okay to take shortcuts and no one apparently cares...until they get out into the real world and are shocked (hopefully) at the outcome. For those teachers who had high standards, many will share tales of being chastised by irate parents because they dared (dared!) to suggest that Little Johnny cheated. After not receiving support from their management, they decide it's just easier to move Little Johnny on along with his problems. Somewhere someone told Little Johnny it was okay, not too worry...it's not a big deal.
Aug '11
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
Don't know about cheating, but I had an online history survey class that was certainly as good as some regular classes. The professor gave us lots of questions to answer. I was very leery about it, but by the time I dug into the material to answer the questions, I had learned a lot. We went to school for our tests. I did not have to listen to Marxist historian ideology or any other offensive hogwash. My recall from that class seems as good as any other.
Sometimes I think that boys that stay in college must be losers. If they have any ability at all, they could be out making their way in the world, and why wouldn't they? I can hardly stand the idiotic things my teachers say. They live in another world. UGH.
Oct '10
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
skipsul: I think the issues of cheating are incidental to the entire problem of college.
Why do people go to college? Because they've been told it's the only way they'll get job that pays a good wage and doesn't require manual labor. So, except for a few actual trades, or pathways to trades (medicine, engineering, law, science, education), college is just 4 more years of high school.·
But it's just as bad in the pre-professional tracks. For example, the word about Stanford is that their pre meds routinely violate their school's honor code. A colleague told me she left the program because of the rampant dishonesty.
Oct '10
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
Lots of great stuff in here, but I'd like to address the online learning aspect of it.
I'm involved in an online-only Master's program where I work. I handle all the student support.
While there are certainly financial issues for the university, one of the major benefits of an online program (or online courses in general) is how portable they are. We have students from remote areas of British Columbia in our program, not to mention students from all over the world. We have Canadians getting a Canadian education as they work in the UAE, or in Switzerland or Sweden. We have truly international students as well.
No, the experience is not the same, but that can sometimes be a benefit (as Crystal shows above). But I think online courses can also help the intimidation factor that some students have about speaking up in class. Good online instructors guide the class discussion, but they don't direct it as much as face-to-face instructors often do. The class is not a forum for the professor's political screeds.
Jun '10
Re: Disturbing Trends in College Education
Portability and flexibility in accomodating the students' schedules are great reasons to take on-line courses. And taking them through a public university will cut the cost by about 70% or so.
Students are more likely to think before they "speak" (or post) so the likelihood of sloppy thinking in student contributions to the discussion is lowered in on-line courses. It's also easier to tune out any blowhards who try to dominate the discussion. I think they are one of the best innovations in the academic world.