Up to a couple of months ago and until a great friend of mine pointed it out, I was in danger of becoming far too ranty concerning the stroke of genius dealt us by the Vice-Rector of the university where I work.
If you wish to follow the whole rant, here are the posts:
Anyhow, given the low enrolment figures, scant attendance and poor task completion of the online component, our Vice-Rector, in all his enlightened wisdom, has decided to scrap the system and go back to what we had always advocated - traditional presential classes. Let's hope that this is my last post on the matter.
If this debate is of more than a passing interest to you, I'd recommend that you have a look at the New York Times article on the failure of such schemes in US universities - and thanks to eagle-eyed Esther in Washington DC for sending it to me in the first place.
In modern times education has been beset by a plethora of bad theories sold by inexperienced educational theorists to governments anxious for low-cost solutions. In Britain this has led to a disastrous lowering of educational standards as dimwitted theory replaces dimwitted theory and the quality of education declines as a result.
ReplyDeleteYour Vice-Rector, though he was culpable of too easy acceptance of yet another dimwitted theory, is also to be complimented for seeing that it has failed and returning to more reliable methods. Not all institutions are so fortunate.
Dear ST, How right you are when you say: "Your Vice-Rector, though he was culpable of too easy acceptance of yet another dimwitted theory, is also to be complimented for seeing that it has failed and returning to more reliable methods. Not all institutions are so fortunate."
DeleteHe did indeed have the cojones to come to a meeting of the English Dept., listen to our grumbles and then one week later backtrack to a more sensible postion, although obviously there are a lot of strings and caveats attached which would be tedious to recount.
However, since the debacle became evident to all and not just to the English Dept. our Institute Director, who was instrumental in having this scheme foisted upon us, has tended to scuttle past and not recognise his culpability to anyone.
So, yes, the VR does deserve a pat on the back for his courage – we all know how hard it is for politicians to sacrifice a scheme that they have invested so much political capital in.