A new undergrad approach

Nerdyparent
Sun, 07 Feb 2016 04:13:16 +0000

In applying for executive MBA programs, I was awed how many programs are out there for working professionals that have brief on-campus residency requirements with the majority of learning done online collaboratively as opposed to traditional full-time MBA programs.

That led me to wonder - would this ever catch on at the undergrad level?
I.e. Having a synthesis of brief on-campus learning residencies that last a week or two each semester and the rest done online through distance learning?
I am sure it is already being done, but what if it became the new normal? ( i.e. Having undergrads be able to get that on campus “college” experience in small doses but shedding the financial burden of living on campus).

Plus, colleges could expand their class sizes - having students rotate in and out of dorms like a time share and offering more of their content online.

I suppose one could say community colleges offer something like this, but I was thinking more about four-year universities.

It would certainly make the traditional “bricks and mortar” full-time experience that is the norm now seem more like a luxury. The real question is - would it work to reduce college expenses and increase access to undergraduate education?

And would elite colleges even entertain such an idea or shy away from it, thinking it would devalue the full time students’ experience (Harvard, for instance, has not developed an executive distance learning MBA for that very reason).

Just wondering.

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