Why Not The Ivies?

[Alpha]

It's an article about why there are so few online offerings coming from the Ivy League
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-10-04-...-change-it

[ss20ts]

They don't need to. Enrollment doesn't go down at them. A huge part of what you get out of attending them is the networking. Networking in online programs is awful.

[sanantone]

Their list is missing some online degrees, such as Harvard's MPH and multiple programs offered by Columbia. I'm not even counting the extension, professional, and continuing education schools. Also, the MEd is not Harvard's first online degree; the MPH is the first online degree. The Ivy League's online offerings are actually not few when compared to other prestigious private schools. There are many colleges that aren't prestigious that don't offer nearly as many online degrees as University of Pennsylvania or Columbia University. When you throw in the extension programs, Harvard and Columbia's online offerings are quite numerous.

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Oh, and I was wondering why I hadn't known about some of the programs that were on this author's list. It's because some of them are blended, not fully online as stated in the article. I'm not talking about a campus visit or two; they require a significant amount of classroom time.

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Seeing that he wasn't avoiding programs offered at professional schools because he included the ones at Brown and University of Pennsylvania, there are so many online programs missed by the author, it makes the article pointless. There are not just a few online programs offered by the Ivy League schools. Princeton is the only unusual one.

[Alpha]

Another criticism of the article might be related to the article's subtitle, "...what's happening to change it."  The last paragraph in the article describes two possible paths forward are described with one sentence each and are hardly worth reading through the entire story.  There is some optimism however.  It does appear, from the article and the comments above that there is a growing number of online degrees and other credentials coming from the Ivies.  I'm imagining that they are paying close attention to the Purdue Global experiment.  They don't want to dilute their elite reputations but they wouldn't mind putting some of those online dollars into their pockets.  One small step I'd look for would be for Harvard to quietly removed their requirement for an on-campus semester for their HES degrees.  That would likely result in a huge jump in enrollment by students outside the US and often, these folks are willing to pay virtually any price for the program. Another thing to look for might be the expansion of doctoral level degrees.  We've seen some evidence of some school's interest in this, even to the extent of inventing new degree titles in order to create and online doctoral program.  I'm imagining that any/all of this requires a motivated administration, dept. chair, etc. to make something like this happen.

[bjcheung77]

That's a short list, I don't think they'll be "changing" that list much as they're more traditional in teaching, meaning some, if not most of them, will have components where the student has to be on campus. It's great though that they've put "online blended" options that cater to some students, but if they don't provide more options or full degrees, not many students will be able to bite.

[sanantone]

Another criticism of the article might be related to the article's subtitle, "...what's happening to change it."  The last paragraph in the article describes two possible paths forward are described with one sentence each and are hardly worth reading through the entire story.  There is some optimism however.  It does appear, from the article and the comments above that there is a growing number of online degrees and other credentials coming from the Ivies.  I'm imagining that they are paying close attention to the Purdue Global experiment.  They don't want to dilute their elite reputations but they wouldn't mind putting some of those online dollars into their pockets.  One small step I'd look for would be for Harvard to quietly removed their requirement for an on-campus semester for their HES degrees.  That would likely result in a huge jump in enrollment by students outside the US and often, these folks are willing to pay virtually any price for the program. Another thing to look for might be the expansion of doctoral level degrees.  We've seen some evidence of some school's interest in this, even to the extent of inventing new degree titles in order to create and online doctoral program.  I'm imagining that any/all of this requires a motivated administration, dept. chair, etc. to make something like this happen.

The article talks about extension programs as a solution, but the Ivies already have extension programs with easier admissions standards that are separated to protect the rest of the university's reputation. The fully online programs offered by non-extension departments are highly-competitive. As for HES, courses that require a weekend on campus meet the residency requirement. All one needs to do is take two or three hybrid courses; an entire semester on campus is not required.

[Alpha]

Another criticism of the article might be related to the article's subtitle, "...what's happening to change it."  The last paragraph in the article describes two possible paths forward are described with one sentence each and are hardly worth reading through the entire story.  There is some optimism however.  It does appear, from the article and the comments above that there is a growing number of online degrees and other credentials coming from the Ivies.  I'm imagining that they are paying close attention to the Purdue Global experiment.  They don't want to dilute their elite reputations but they wouldn't mind putting some of those online dollars into their pockets.  One small step I'd look for would be for Harvard to quietly removed their requirement for an on-campus semester for their HES degrees.  That would likely result in a huge jump in enrollment by students outside the US and often, these folks are willing to pay virtually any price for the program. Another thing to look for might be the expansion of doctoral level degrees.  We've seen some evidence of some school's interest in this, even to the extent of inventing new degree titles in order to create and online doctoral program.  I'm imagining that any/all of this requires a motivated administration, dept. chair, etc. to make something like this happen.

The article talks about extension programs as a solution, but the Ivies already have extension programs with easier admissions standards that are separated to protect the rest of the university's reputation. The fully online programs offered by non-extension departments are highly-competitive. As for HES, courses that require a weekend on campus meet the residency requirement. All one needs to do is take two or three hybrid courses; an entire semester on campus is not required.

That's good news to my mind.  I'm a bit surprised that more people don't take advantage of these programs.  I know they're not cheap but the quality can't be questioned.