Provision of Higher Education Act May Force Schools to Spy on Online Students

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 04:24:00 GMT

Language in the bill, currently before Congress, to re-authorize the Higher Education Act could lead distance-learning institutions to use home-monitoring devices to police their students who take courses online, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“New Systems Keep a Close Eye on Online Students at Home,” July 25, 2008).

The provision, contained within a single paragraph of the 1,200-page bill, is intended to prevent students enrolled in online programs from cheating. The clause requires providers of online postsecondary programs to prove that the person submitting the online classwork is the student who’s actually enrolled.

Hearing no objections from Congress to the provision, a handful of online colleges are now testing home-monitoring systems that authenticate online test-takers through fingerprinting, watch students in their homes via webcams, and record key strokes on students’ home computers.

Some colleges claim one chief advantage to these types of devices: Students will no longer be required to travel to a distant location where a proctor can oversee them taking the test in person. Instead, students will be able to take tests online in the comfort of their own home, with an installed approved monitoring system acting as an on-site proctor.

A few administrators, however, are concerned that these new technologies, which will are managed by third-party vendors, may not adequately safeguard students’ privacy. “This is taking a step into a student’s private life,” said Rhonda Epper, co-executive director of Colorado Community Colleges Online. “I don't know if we want to extend our presence that far.”

Debates about privacy and institutional intrusions aside, there may be at least one upside: The provision could bring online degrees a greater reputability since the schools would be verifying that their graduates had actually completed the coursework, said John Ebersole, president of Excelsior College, an online institution in Albany, N.Y.

“If it raises confidence and credibility in the eyes of regulators and traditional educators,” Ebersole said, “it’s worth it.”

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Interest in Online Courses Rising as Gas Remains Above $4 Per Gallon

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:42:00 GMT

Students at many colleges are opting for online courses this summer in an attempt to save money on gas, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Gas Prices Drive Students to Online Courses,” July 8, 2008).

"All across the country, community colleges and universities are getting requests for online programs specifically with students mentioning the price of gas," said Ray Schroeder, director of learning at the University of Illinois at Springfield. At many schools online education is booming, and enrollment numbers are up:

15 percent at Harrisburg Area Community College of Pennsylvania
18 percent at Northampton Community College, also in Pennsylvania
25 percent at Brevard Community College in Florida
29 percent over the previous summer for the Tennessee Board of Regents

While it may be too soon to tell, some experts believe that the increased interest in online courses could change how some schools do business. For instance, many colleges may begin offering a wider range of online courses in several different subjects.

Other schools have already begun experimenting with blended courses that incorporate both on-campus and online meetings, so that students can cut back on the number of days they have commute to school each week.

But some officials say that the rise in online enrollment may be a trend that only pertains to summer courses, because those classes tend to meet more frequently causing more days of driving for students during the week.

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Provision of Higher Education Act May Force Schools to Spy on Online Students

Interest in Online Courses Rising as Gas Remains Above $4 Per Gallon