Who’s Buying It?
They’re playing tennis and washing their cars.
Not that this is an extraordinary task for most people that are physically able, but the fact that they are doing it while obtaining their college degree certainly sparks interest or perhaps, debate.
In a recent on-line “accredited” university television commercial traditional and some non-traditional characters are cast in the role of simultaneously playing tennis and washing their car while also “studying” on-line with an electronic pad device.
It appears that the university is targeting people who have busy lives and who are interested in earning a college degree in the wildly popular on-line environment. Conceptually I have no issues or concerns about educational endeavors that include on-line learning. The debate for me comes from what the potential employers are thinking about a university that makes it so easy to obtain a college degree that you can do it while multi-tasking. A feat that popular wisdom among many “brain experts” suggests is technically impossible.
So once they’ve paid their money, paid their dues, and completed their course work who will hire these scholarly individuals? The employer who also watched the commercial? The employer that believes they will hire and pay for employees who can multi-task? The employer that will allow employees do things like play tennis and wash their car while being compensated by the business or organization? To that I say, “buyer beware.”
My side of the debate is this, I don’t blame the students, I encourage them. My concern is that the university is marketing to the student to fill their seats (even if those seats are virtual) and they are not demonstrating interest or concern for what happens for the students in the future.
At least they aren’t discussing job placement rates.
Who’s buying it?
– DEG
Photo Credit: To the best of my knowledge the photo credit belongs to Derek Harper.
