As an active citizen and student in Chandler, Arizona, I frequently come by myself confronted with conflicts regarding educational affordability and the lack of continuous educational options available to graduates with desires to enroll in further schooling. Many intelligent, motivated, and capable individuals who wish to experience a collegiate education, can simply not afford it, especially with the economy in the state that it is. They are faced with few options in affording further education, the most current and yet costly, being to take out a sizable student loan. These individuals have a desire to learn, innovate, and become contributing members of society, but are restricted due to the absurd tuition costs. The other conflict faces graduates who believe occupations, which occupy and restrict any excess time they have to rob traditional classes, yet they wish to further their education. There has to be an alternative method of education that minimizes costs and is easily accessible and flexible for all schedules. Fortunately, there is.



Solution: 

I am proposing a solution that will not only resolve these widespread educational conflicts, but will start up the possibilities of a college education to almost anyone, at minimal costs. This solution is simply a web-based open-sourced application ran through Arizona State University, which allows students to take online classes at their own pace, and without restriction for minimal fees and partial college credit. This application would be comparable to Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Open Courseware project, in which the majority of class materials are available for public viewing. However, the application that I am suggesting, will include a powerful more extensive availability of classes, lectures, multi-media, and course work. According to a recent study, “bored students are dropping out of online classes while pleading for richer and more engaging online learning experiences (Kyong-Je).” This proposed solution will not only educate and stimulate students through a hybrid of traditional learning techniques and modern adaptations to those techniques, but will allow them to experience online classes in a completely new way. Real time face-to-face instructor and peer interaction through streaming Cisco video conferencing is one of the most important and innovative features of this system, and will quickly catch on among other online universities. 
 The easiest way to construct this system for potential profit would be to offer the materials for free, and without any awarding of college credit. There would be, however, an upfront fee for access to any instructor interaction, web 2.0 style student-to-student communication, or the receiving of college credit. This solution is not only going to simplify learning and the availability of it, it will expand the possibilities of online education. 



Justification:

This solution is the smartest move that Arizona State University can make. The future of education is leaning towards virtual instruction, and by being a leader in this movement, ASU has much to gain. Frank Christ, of Academic Support Programs, agrees. “In the future, as higher education shifts from traditional classroom teaching to online learning, academic support programs will increasingly become more in demand by online learners especially advising, career preparation, learning skills, orientation, tutoring, and intervention to overcome online technical problems.” He also brings up a potential quandary with online education saying that, “although many services may be made available online, academic support for both faculty and students will mild be necessary for many students since they may be miles from the parent institution offering the course and will insist on some face-to-face interaction with academic support personnel.” This issue that Christ brings up regarding the necessity of face-to-face interaction is not an issue with the application I am proposing. One-on-one video conferencing or chats with instructors are both options to students who choose to receive credit, and pay the upfront fee. This interactive online education experience will be useful for current professionals, who wish to further their education. “In order to stay productive and competitive there is an ongoing need for new knowledge and skills, regardless of the particular content area. A lifetime of continuing education in order to re-invent, grow, and change is necessary. (Edelson)” The implementation of an affordable, accessible, interactive, progressive, and high-quality online education application is the best way to provide this. 
 A common scrape with any web-based application is the uncertainty of its usability. My solution is a simple, user-friendly interface, combined with a web 2.0 style environment. This style of application will demystify any uncertainty of use, and allow for increased interactivity between students and instructors, the ability to implement more intricate learning techniques, and will provide a flexible, comprehensible system of use. 
 A popular argument against my proposal is the fact that Arizona State University’s tuition is relatively low in cost in comparison to other universities. This is true, but “tuition and fees have risen every year at all three state universities in Arizona, and are projected to nasty the $6,000 threshold for the first time for the 2009-10 school year. (azcentral.com)” This sum is before the added costs of living, which means that an average in-state Arizona State undergraduate student is forced to catch other means of affording to help school. Not to mention out of state students are faced with about a sixteen thousand dollar per year tuition fee. This simple, online, solution can alleviate the stresses of struggling to pay for college. Not only does it establish the students money in the end, but the University as well. Theoretically, if this system runs smoothly, students from all over the world can easily access the course material and take classes. Many of these are students who would never even have considered Arizona State, but will pay microscopic fees for college credits, because of the easy availability and accessibility of the online application, resulting in globally deriving income for Arizona State. 
 Also, something else to take into consideration is the fact that other universities are considering similar proposals for a broader more enriched online experience for students. Respectable universities such as John Hopkins, Irvine, Utah State, and Notre Dame, are all on track to implement a similar open-sourced online database of course information. Blackboard, the, “dominant player in course management software,” is even jumping on the bandwagon, and is reaching out to Universities to integrate open-sourced applications and originate content through their systems (insidehighered.com). The institutions mentioned are not, however, as “distance learning initiatives” (oedb.org). This is where Arizona State can travel and take the system a step further, by offering credits to those who pay a fee. By being on the cusp of developing educational technologies, Arizona State would not only hold a favorable advantage over other universities, but would fulfill their mission statement to, “provide service appropriate for the nation” (asu.edu). 
 


Conclusion:

The high costs of college tuition and lack of flexibility of classes is a frequent problem among potential students and college graduates. The way to solve this is to obtain a web application that allows everyone access to all course materials, but any instructor or peer interaction and earning of credits is allowed only with a fee. This will help Arizona State provide an education to a much wider student base globally. The technology that is apart of this program will help Arizona State stand out as an innovative, progressive, and quality university, and will benefit both sides. 






Works Cited:

Eldeson, Paul. “The Future of Online Education in the USA”. Google Scholar ASU 2004:
ASU. 20 Nov 2008. 

Frank L. Christ. “Learning Help Centers”. Paradise Valley Community College. 2008.
 20 Nov 2008. 

 “General Information” Arizona State University. 2007. 20 Nov 2008. 
 < http://www.asu.edu/aad/catalogs/general/gen-info.html>.

Guess, Andy. “A Bridge Between Blackboard and Open Source? ” Inside Higher Education. 
 2008. 20 Nov 2008. 

Hart, Timothy. “Open Source in Education.” Google Scholar ASU 2003:
ASU. 20 Nov 2008 


Kyong-Je, Kim. “The Future of Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education”. 
 Google Scholar ASU 2004: ASU. 20 Nov 2008. 

Ryman, Anne. “College Tuition Puts More in Debt”. The Arizona Republic. 2008. 20 Nov 2008.


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