EDITORIAL: While CMU, FA argue, what does academic transformation mean for students?
At Tuesday’s Academic Senate meeting, Central Michigan University administrators and senators clashed over using more technology in classes to reduce costs.
Carol Twigg, president and chief executive of the National Center for Academic Transformation, the non-profit organization that would implement the new technology, said in a report by the Chronicle of Higher Education that the programs include online quizzes and assignments. Twigg said NCAT’s programs reduce the needed number of professors and, on average, reduce the costs of teaching a course by 37 percent.
This plan by the administration, and the response by senators, was a calculated move by both sides.
Still in the midst of a standstill in faculty contract negotiations, introducing plans to reduce the need for professors is obviously intended as a jab.
Even if the quality of education is exactly the same and it is an economic no-brainer to make the switch, the timing of the announcement makes its intent clear. As the FA works without a current contract it seems interesting that this subject would come up in a meeting.
The negative reaction of the academic senators, many of whom are FA members, is understandable.
But before condemning NCAT’s program as impersonal, specifics should be provided for what exactly the program would do if implemented.
Would these more-automated courses free up professors' time for higher-level classes and research, or would they be out of a job?
The NCAT system allows universities to save money by placing more students in classes, said Carolyn Jarmon, NCAT vice president.
This could throw CMU's student-professor ratio, which is a relatively low one for our position in Michigan higher education, out of balance.
Students also pay for the on-campus experience. Should students have to pay the already-inflated rates to take more quizzes online?
Would using online software for classes normally taught by graduate assistants greatly reduce the ability of graduate students to pay for their education?
Most importantly, would the quality of education provided meet the current standard of education at CMU?
