e-Learning and Academic Integrity

Tyler Powell

More and more often these days colleges are creating classes that students can take online. Since online classes aren't scheduled at any particular time of the day, students enjoy the freedom of choosing when they will "attend" class. It allows students to work around a busy schedule, perhaps get a part-time job, or even get some classes out of the way over the summer, all from the comfort of their home. There is a problem with this concept though: give a student an inch and he or she will take a mile.

In traditional classroom settings, the professor has an eye on everyone. During quizzes and tests, they roam the room, making sure no students are cheating in any way, shape, or form. Students take copious notes during lectures so that they can memorize the material for the exams, and those that don't most often won't pass the class. This doesn't apply to online courses. With no one around to monitor the students' actions, disinterested students are more likely to cheat on tests. They can keep their textbooks open and look up information online without their professors being any the wiser. Such students not only violate Academic Integrity, but also disservice themselves. With a wealth of information at their fingertips, they have no need to study or take notes, and therefor do not learn any of the material.

If students are expected not to resort to such mannerisms, the course material must be engaging, challenging, and thought provoking. An article in the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning states that "creating effective e-learning relies on having tasks for students to undertake that provide an experience likely to lead them to the desired new understanding...A rich activity is one that opens up opportunities for action rather than directs students down a prescribed pathway. Such an activity 'implies the active involvement of the learner in making choices about what experiences to undertake...'" In online classes, the students must want to learn the material in order to obtain a passing grade without cheating. Therefor, the course material needs to be made interesting in order to ensure fewer violations of Academic Integrity.

Freshmen Forgiveness vs. Pass/Fail

By Sami Ahmed

On one of my earlier blog post I discussed about the Pass/Fail system some universities have in order to make a freshmen’s transition to college easier. Georgia Tech has a different program in order to help freshmen in case they fail a few classes, “freshmen forgiveness”. The way this program works is first time freshmen students who receive a grade of D or F in a course within their first two terms are eligible to repeat the course and have the original grade excluded. The course must be repeated within the student’s first four terms in residence.

This system is very forgiving and may be considered superior to the pass/fail system. In the pass/fail system if a student receives a D or F in a class they get a 0.0 GPA for that class. Universities that have pass/fail system probably do not have the freshmen forgiveness program, due to the university would then be considered too lenient.

However the pass/fail system is more advantageous over the freshmen forgiveness system if a student receives a B or C. Also in the “freshmen forgiveness” program, the student would have to re-take the same course if they wish to get a better grade, making the student spend twice the amount of time in a class.



The table below shows which system is better depending on the grade a student receives:

Leaving School: What are Your Chances?

By Michael Kang


Transitioning from high school to college is a critical step for many around the world. Although this step, in itself, is rather difficult, lasting through college can also be a challenging feat for many. For some, it can appear to be overwhelming and they cannot handle it. For others, it may seem like it's holding them down and they would rather seek other opportunities with more a more immediate return. However, this does not imply or plainly state that college drop-outs will not be able to attain a decent occupation. Although opportunities do exist for those who decide to drop out of school early, it may not be as simple as it seems.

Many believe that attending college is a crucial step to attaining a "good" job in the future. Most employers, however, believe that those with college degrees have more credibility compared to those who do not. According to Phyllis Korkki in her New York Times article, "[if] you respond to an online job posting that requires a bachelor’s degree and you don’t have one, you are much more likely to end up in the “no” pile. That’s why it is especially important for those without degrees to rely on networking." It may not be impossible to find a job without at least an Associate's or Bachelor's degree, but finding a willing employer will most likely be difficult.

Leaving school, even with a supposedly "feasible" reason, are, most often, frowned upon. Korkki quotes Ms. Piotrowski, "If you have only a few credits to go, why let them dog you for the rest of your life? For some people, the hours spent worrying about not having a degree could be spent actually getting one."

Student services markup

Bud Whitley

Mandated student fees have been around for more than a century, an article from thefire.org gives the history of mandatory fees as being enacted by students to support certain student facilities and organizations. All around the country, college students as a whole would agree to pay fees for things like athletic fields and support services; however, these students didn’t agree to pay the item markup prevalent in the services they pay to keep up.

Any sort of item a student buys on campus has a price considerably greater than market price. The convince stores that are open to students until very late (usually 1 or 2 AM) sell any sort of thing one may need to pull that allnighter or pick up a snack between classes sells a loaf of bread, costing about $1 - $2 at the grocery store, for $4; a 100% markup at best! The West Campus Market holds a monopoly on the west campus of Georgia Tech as the only guaranteed safe place where students can get food after the dining hall closes at 9 PM. As such, students on west campus have only one choice of where to get there late night food and there for have to pay the marked up price for food. According to the University System of Georgia, as of 2006 Georgia Tech had some of the highest mandatory fees of any school in the system, so why should students pay massive mark-up prices to uses a service they already contribute too?

Women Engineers: Good Enough

Gabriel Garza

The ratio of students enrolled in most engineering specialized universities show that men surpass women by far. For example, only 33% of the student body at Georgia Tech is women. This might show that female students aren't as smart and capable as males to be enrolled in an engineering major, but recent studies demonstrate that female engineers are as persistent as male engineers.

 

History shows us that many people think that men are smarter and superior than women. As it is in the case of Higher Education, the fact that the majority of engineers are men causes people to think that men are more capable of achieving this degree. Women have inclined more into other less-demanding careers such as liberal arts. A study made by the Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network shows one possible reason why the ratio is like that causing people to think this way: "Fewer of the female students felt that engineering was the right major for them, and they were less confident about their overall academic abilities than were male students. Female students have less confidence in their abilities in engineering and physics courses and are less likely to ask questions in class than male students do." If females continue believing this, they will continue to be looked as inferior to men. 

 

However, Paul Basken mentions in his article of The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Female Students are just as persistent as men in engineering." This statement is based on a study that demonstrated that women were not dropping out as much as men in engineering majors. This should impulse universities to make a bigger effort in recruiting women into engineering because they are as capable as men. 

Riding out the storm

David Lai

With the recent economic downturn, job are becoming harder and harder to find for graduating students. Even students who find jobs face the risk of losing their jobs pending unavoidable corporate layoffs. One increasingly popular solution – stay in school.

Today, many students, instead of waiting for the economic recession to be over, take advantage of this period by honing their skills through graduate studies. Numerous surveys have validated that more and more students are applying to graduate school as a result of the recession. While attending graduate school requires a significant time as well as financial investment, many experts agree that this is the correct move for most students.

In addition, graduate studies are good for more than just stalling while a recession is occurring. In an increasingly competitive job market, a graduate degree will not only make students more qualified, but it can significantly affect their starting salary. According to Salary.com, a Master’s degree commands on average $10,000 more annual earning power than a bachelor’s degree does. In addition, according to gradschools.com, “Students with master's or doctoral degrees are likely to start their career at a higher level and continue to advance their career at a faster rate than if they earned only a bachelor's degree in their field.

To even further the argument, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), recently found that recruiters are looking for employees with "soft skills," such as leadership and communication. Recruiters are finding these skills in the prospective employees who have earned graduate degrees.

Changes in Importance of Information Technology

By Michael Kang

With technological advances occurring on a regular basis, the need for funding for such advances is needed, especially for the young bright minds who will, one day, make even further advances. But for those who are no so "tech savvy" and are in need of technological assistance may not be able to receive such necessary assistance. Although technology advances regularly, students are unable to receive technological resources and support with the ever-advancing technology.

As technology continues to grow, both public and private schools are slowly falling behind in keeping up. According to Steve Kolowich in his article, "I get the sense that the IT department is kind of like the library: In down times, we won’t order as many books, in down times we can cut back. And it just doesn’t work, because there’s a cumulative hit on the infrastructure, there’s a cumulative hit on resources." As Kolowich says, technology is "cumulative" and, therefore, cutting back on the development of such "cumulative" advances would be frowned upon. In the end, schools would have to catch up and thus, spend just as much money, or even more, to get up to speed.

With technological advances, comes the choice of whether to continue adapting college databases and systems with the advances. Unfortunately, with the troubling economical situation, such decisions are rather difficult to make. In the near future, hopefully institutions would not fall behind as far as they have now in the technological advancement of the current age.