Online college course experiment reveals hidden costs


The pilot program began with remedial classes.

About two weeks into San Jose State’s online education experiment at an Oakland charter school, it became clear that something was wrong. Some of the students in the college’s for-credit math courses weren’t even logging on.

“I get this call from San Jose State: ‘Uh, we have a problem,'” recalled Mark Ryan, superintendent of the Oakland Military Institute, a public school set up on a military model.

It turned out some of the low-income teens didn’t have computers and high-speed internet connections at home that the online course required. Many needed personal attention to make it through. The final results aren’t in yet, but the experiment exposed some challenges to the promise of a low-cost online education.

And it showed there is still a divide between technology-driven educators and the low-income, first-generation college hopefuls they are trying to reach.

To make it work, the institute had to issue laptops to students, set aside class time for them to focus on the online course, and assign teachers to make sure they stayed on task.

“Without having a class period to do it, I wouldn’t have done as well,” said Ciara Lowry, a junior at the Oakland Military Institute who passed the college statistics course.

In January, San Jose State and the online educational startup Udacity teamed up to test the idea of offering for-credit college courses to anyone with a high-speed Internet connection, including high school
students. The San Jose State Plus pilot started small — three remedial and entry-level math courses, a cap of 100 students per course at

$150 each offered for high school, community college and university students.

Gov. Jerry Brown — who started the Oakland charter school when he was the city’s mayor — said at the project’s unveiling in San Jose that online education could open doors for students whose busy lives don’t fit into the traditional college structure or who need better preparation for college studies.

A study on the project, due out in the fall, could validate such hopes.

But giving more students access to college classes is not enough, say some who work with poor and first-generation college students. They are more likely to graduate if they have academic support and involvement in campus life, said Sara Melnick, deputy director of the National College Access Network.

Advocates say online education has potential, Melnick said, but “they want to see it before they believe it.”

For the Oakland Military Institute, the courses meant a major investment: With more than 700 students in grades 6 through 12, the school had to devote much of its computer lab space, equipment and staffing to online courses for the roughly 45 students taking the Udacity courses. A donation paid for the course fees.

Answering questions and keeping students on task consumed much of his time, said Omar Solache, a computer teacher with two other job titles. A second teacher was assigned to help ease his load.

“They’re so used to having teachers right there with them,” Solache said.

Despite the bumpy start, students said they found the experience interesting and worthwhile.

Some said they enjoyed watching the bite-size videos, video chatting with online tutors anytime they needed help and moving at their own pace, reviewing material they didn’t understand. A tally of the grades and pass rates is not yet available, as final exams ended just last week, but many students already know how they did.

Lowry, a self-admitted procrastinator, said that when a statistics assignment was due at 11:59 p.m., she sometimes would have a pressing question at 11:30. “I’d type, ‘Hi, I need help,'” she said. And, sure enough, help would arrive in no time on her computer screen.

She passed the statistics course, earning credit at California State University and at the institute. She usually does poorly in math, she said, but found the right combination of class time, help from classmates, and virtual tutoring.

“It was still difficult, but we had a lot of support,” she said. “I didn’t have to spend any money on it, and I’ll get college credit.”

(c)2013 The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.). Visit The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.) at www.insidebayarea.com. Distributed by MCT Information Services.

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