By Rob Jenkins, Chronicle of Higher Ed
Every college that offers online courses should require students to pass an online orientation. I’m envisioning a one-credit course, taken online, that covers the technical requirements of online classes, familiarizes students with the pedagogical approaches they can expect, addresses candidly the time commitment and degree of responsibility and motivation required, and essentially teaches students how to take a course online. I understand the main objection to that idea, which is that it could negatively affect enrollment at a time when many institutions need to attract more students for financial reasons. That might be true, but I’ve also been reading lately that, in many states, future state dollars may ultimately be tied to student success and not just to headcounts. In that case, allowing enrollment to decline just a bit while at the same time increasing success rates would be a pretty good trade-off.
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