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Business & Labor
UCLA Courts Working Engineers with New Online Master's Program
(enr.construction.com - 10/21/06)
By Jeffrey
Rubenstone
It's a familiar scenario. You're an
engineer working in the industry, and are currently enrolled
as a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Engineering
degree. You've just gotten home from work, and need to take
a few minutes to prepare for your next lecture class.
The routine has become almost second
nature: you pull out your textbooks, gather your notes and
homework, put on your bathrobe and sit down in front of your
computer. After logging into your school's website, you pull
up the latest streaming lecture and watch a university professor
instructs you from a small window in the corner as his slides
and drawings fill the screen. At the end of the session you
type up and submit your answers to the latest homework, then
maybe instant message your professor a question, or post in
an online forum discussion about one of the day's topics.
The full graduate school experience, without ever having to
set foot in a lecture hall.
It may sound like something out of a
late night commercial or cliché futurist novel, but it's
actually the new online
Master of Science in Engineering program at UCLA's Henry Samueli
School of Engineering (although the bathrobe may be a
bit unprofessional). Enrollment is now open for the School's
first entirely internet-based courses of study, which it claims
are the full equivalent of their regular graduate programs.
Fully accredited and advertised as featuring the same material
and experience as regular students, UCLA hopes to provide
an option for working engineers to attain an M.S. in Engineering.
While most of the six initial areas of areas of study are
in the computer sciences, they also include Mechanics of Structures
as well as Manufacturing and Design, both of which are highly
sought by practicing engineers.
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There have been other steps into the
online world by universities, but few as complete as what
UCLA is attempting. In 2002, The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology famously put their entire courseware online free
for anyone interested, and other universities have experimented
with online based degree-granting programs.
Yet distance learning programs are not
without their critics. One outspoken skeptic is Rep. Vernon
Ehlers (R - MI), who has argued for higher standard in distance
education. In an interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education
[http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i30/30a03801.htm] he maintained
that "The sciences are known for requiring students to
think things through. And they benefit tremendously from working
together. If you're taking a distance-learning course, and
you're all by yourself, you're missing out on that interaction.
So I just would like to see concrete evidence that they're
equivalent. "Rep. Ehlers has resisted giving allowing
full financial aid to students if they are enrolled in dubious
online programs, and has sought new standards for evaluating
distance learning programs.
One of the main focuses of the UCLA
program is combating that lack of interactivity Rep. Ehlers
is describing. "Other online programs have videos of
the classroom lectures. They're shot from the back and you
don't really feel like you're part of the experience"
said Dr. Stephen Jacobsen, Dean of the Henry Samueli School
of Engineering and head administrator of the online program.
"Our program is tailored in the sense that regular faculty
set aside time to construct material for our online students."
One of the biggest obstacles to building
support for distance learning is the stigma it often carries
of online students as neglected, and receiving a watered-down
education. But Dean Jacobsen says that they are attempting
to create an equivalent online experience. "It's the
regular curriculum, the materials the same. The course offers
the same materials as seen in the on campus environment."
Through the use of the aforementioned tailored lectures and
instructors willing to help students online, Dr. Jacobsen
hopes to capture the sense of involvement the classroom brings.
Indeed many of these online technologies, from lecture notes
posted on class websites to online class forums are already
being used to supplement the experience of full and part-time
students. So an entire course built upon these tools is not
as far removed from the regular student experience as one
might think. Dr. Jacobsen noted that "Younger engineers
and students seem to be much more comfortable with doing things
through the computer than in previous years."
While all these attempts to personalize
the student experience are welcome additions to the online
education field, what ultimately draws students to online
programs is the flexible schedule. With the freedom to complete
their work and watch lectures at any time, it is much easier
for the working engineer to meet the requirements. This flexibility
can lead to problems of discipline however, and many universities
that have experimented with online degrees have had problems
with dropouts and students falling behind, particularly in
undergraduate online degrees. Ultimately it's a question of
self-discipline, and the student has to admit that if they
want a full degree they're going to have to put in the same
amount of work as a regular student.
Yet Dr. Jacobsen foresees no real problem
in student dedication. "There's no doubt it takes self-motivation,
but it takes even more motivation to get off from work and
navigate the freeways of L.A. to get here and take a class
part time. This program is about reaching out to the working
engineer who would enroll normally if they could schedule
it." And those engineers, having seen firsthand the competitive
edge further education can bring to the workplace, may be
the most motivated of all.
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