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The Rise of Colleges without Classes or Professors

时间:2019-03-03 13:27:33

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Students hoping to visit the grounds of Western Governors University will not find them: WGU operates entirely1 over the internet.

But that is not its only difference from most other colleges and universities in the United States. It does not have classes or professors either -- at least not in the traditional sense.

WGU is a private, not-for-profit school that offers study programs leading to a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Its programs have been approved by educational accrediting2 agencies. They are accepted through a system known as competency-based education, or CBE.

Students in a CBE program, such as the one at Western Governors, choose a central field of study, just as they would at a traditional college or university. Yet instead of attending a series of classes led by professors or teaching assistants, the students direct themselves.

CBE programs require students to demonstrate their understanding of a given set of skills. Students must prove their mastery of skills that relate to their field of choice through self-study and use of their existing knowledge of the subject. The programs also require them to prove their mastery by taking exams on those skills. Once they have demonstrated all the skills their study program requires, the students earn their degree.

How Western Governors University came to be

Marni Baker3 Stein says the people who set up Western Governors University in 1997 knew there would be a growing need for different methods of higher education.

Stein is the chief academic officer at WGU. Stein told VOA that in recent years, more and more nontraditional students have been entering U.S. higher education. Many are people who decided4 to attend college later in life, instead of right after high school, as most Americans who go to college do. They also include men and women who may have attended college at one point, but left without earning a degree.

Most nontraditional students have full-time5 jobs, notes Stein. They see higher education as the best path towards getting better jobs and improving their positions in life. But they need to do so at a rate that works for them and their day-to-day activities.

In the United States, most traditional colleges and universities operate around set time periods. Classes usually start in the late summer and end in the spring of every year. These academic calendars are usually divided into two or three study terms, each lasting6 around 15 weeks.

Stein notes that in a CBE program, students can start any time they want. If students work hard, they can finish a class as soon as they successfully complete the final skills test, meaning they can earn their degree faster than in a traditional academic program.

Western Governors students might not sit in classrooms with professors for several hours a week. But Stein says each class has one or more teachers who communicate with students over the internet. These instructors7 guide the students through their self-study and offer help whenever they need it. There are also plenty of special materials to improve the self-learning experience. The materials can include videos, writing projects and computer software programs.

Stein adds that each WGU student has a university representative working with them throughout their entire program. This person follows their progress and makes sure they choose the right classes. And people responsible for the final exams provide complex and helpful criticism for students who fail.

“So our students aren’t on a physical campus,” Stein said. “But they are surrounded by this community of care that is able to personalize their interactions with them in very powerful ways.”

Western Governors reports that it serves over 113,000 students, both in and outside the United States. And CBE programs are slowly growing in popularity8 around the country.

Kelle Parsons studies CBE programs for the American Institutes for Research, a non-profit group with offices in Washington, D.C. She argues that CBE programs are nothing new, and that U.S. educators have been experimenting with them since the 1970s. However, CBE has been getting more attention recently than it may ever have in the past, even if that popularity has not grown as much as some had expected over the last five years.

Last year, Parsons’ organization asked officials at 501 U.S. colleges and universities about their opinions on CBE. The group released its findings last month. A total of 57 schools were shown to be operating some form of CBE program. About 85 percent of all the higher education officials said they were either currently9 designing a CBE program at their school or were considering doing so.

?Why the growing popularity?

Parson’s says growing interest in CBE comes from the increased debate over three major issues facing American higher education: access, cost and quality.

CBE programs have made use of many new technologies, she adds. This helps reduce barriers for nontraditional and other students by bringing higher education to them. And programs that permit students to work at their own speed may save students money by reducing the time it takes for them to earn a degree.

Also, Parson says many companies struggle in placing value on what a job candidate may have learned from a psychology10 or history study program, for example.

“Employers are not satisfied … just know[ing] that someone has a degree,” she said. “They want to know what skills they have.”

CBE classes are based on mastering a skill, like how to solve a given security problem or write a project proposal, instead of a general area of knowledge. So a student’s academic records show exactly what skills they offer to an employer rather than just a grade point average.

But some educators have concerns about the value of the education CBE programs offer. Johann Neem is a professor of U.S. history and higher education policy at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

Neem argues that the purpose of higher education is not simply to help students earn a degree. It should teach students how to think critically, understand the subjects they are studying more deeply and see how they are connected to other subjects. That way they can put the knowledge to better use.

“You don’t need to just master a set of skills or a small body of knowledge,” he said. “You need to explore, think … get shaken, have a conversation … struggle. And those things take time. They take relationships. They take actually being in an environment where those are the most valuable things.”

The promises of easier access and lower cost will likely make CBE programs more desirable for students from poor families, says Neem. But as the quality of the education in these programs may be lesser11, low-income students may not actually be any better off in the end. Instead of supporting CBE, he adds, policy makers12 and educators should look for ways to improve access and reduce costs for traditional higher education.

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

And I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

bachelor’s (degree) – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study

master’s degree – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after one or two years of additional study following a bachelor's degree

accredit(ing) – v. to say that something is good enough to be given official approval

mastery – n. knowledge and skill that allows you to do, use, or understand something very well

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

campus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college or school

personalize – v. to change or design something for a particular person

interaction(s) – n. to talk or do things with other people

access – n. a way of being able to use or get something

grade point average (GPA) – n. a number that indicates a student's average grade


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1 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
2 accrediting 850dc737a4fc84ea4d535e3e4e36d490     
v.相信( accredit的现在分词 );委托;委任;把…归结于
参考例句:
  • One accrediting agency is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 有一个资信鉴定机构是为了高等教育的。 来自互联网
  • One accrediting agency is Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 高等教育授权委员会就是这样一个授权机构。 来自互联网
3 baker wyTz62     
n.面包师
参考例句:
  • The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
  • The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。
4 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
5 full-time SsBz42     
adj.满工作日的或工作周的,全时间的
参考例句:
  • A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
  • I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作,我不知道她是如何对付的。
6 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
参考例句:
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
7 instructors 5ea75ff41aa7350c0e6ef0bd07031aa4     
指导者,教师( instructor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
  • He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份,被邀请到主席台上。
8 popularity bO4xU     
n.普及,流行,名望,受欢迎
参考例句:
  • The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
  • Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。
9 currently SvMzI2     
adv.通常地,普遍地,当前
参考例句:
  • Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
  • Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。
10 psychology U0Wze     
n.心理,心理学,心理状态
参考例句:
  • She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
  • He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。
11 lesser UpxzJL     
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地
参考例句:
  • Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
  • She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及,但程度较轻。
12 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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