Online options
CMU's Academic Senate may be on to something here.
Senators met last week to discuss possible benefits and downsides to allowing traditional students the option of enrolling in online courses.
Hopefully this wasn't just a Q and A session to waste time on a Tuesday afternoon.
The idea of allowing traditional students the option to take some online classes is an issue senators, students and university administration should embrace throughout this semester.
It's a good idea because it would give students something they generally complain about not receiving - a choice.
Think about it. Students might be more apt to schedule 18 or more credits per semester if they can take one or two courses online. While workloads would remain the same for an online course, the middleman of going to class for 48 hours a semester would be eliminated. Why is this important? Let's digress.
Negative consequences of taking online classes: Faculty-student relationships would flounder and students would be much more tempted to slack off and populate campus less.
Positive effects: Online courses would allow undergrads to take courses they otherwise may have to wait until later semesters to take, and, if that holds true, students would have a much easier time graduating in fewer than five years.
Suddenly, the words "CMU" and "Promise" don't sound so intimidating.
A-Senate should continue to discuss the issue and come up with a feasible way to make online courses available to students. With some time and effort during the next couple months, university administrators could take another step in removing CMU from the "Who's better among Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan?" conversation.
It may take some time and a lot of discussion, but it definitely is a worthy topic of discussion.
So let's see something more.
