Are Online Degrees as Valuable as Traditional College Diplomas?

Millennials are the first generation to grow up with constant technology and personal computers. That might explain why they see such a value in online education.

A recent poll by Northeastern University showed that 18 to 29 year olds had a more negative view about attending college because of the high cost, and a more positive opinion about online classes than their older counterparts. The survey also showed more than half of the millennials had taken an online course.

Online education is attracting hundreds of thousands of students a year. Perhaps this is why more brick-and-mortar universities are searching for an online identity.

This week Wellesley College announced that it will offer free online classes to anyone with an Internet connection as part of the nonprofit project edX. Earlier this year, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology teamed up to fund and launch the online platform.

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Online education was even the talk in Washington this week when a group of panelists convened to discuss Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), which is an open source network like edX. These courses are very much like correspondence classes in the early 20th century.

But there are still those universities that only exist in a virtual world and students pay to attend. Are they as beneficial to students as attending a two- or four-year college?

“It depends at what level and what subject,” says Isabelle Frank, dean of Fordham College of Liberal Studies. “In general, fully online degrees are not valued as highly as degrees from brick-and-mortar institutions. This is because online-only universities do not have the faculty quality and interaction that occurs with full-time faculty and secure positions.”

She says that Fordham has online master programs and some online courses, but the model is “that of a small seminar style class with a lot of faculty feedback and involvement.”

Just like a physical college, a quality online education depends on the institution.

For example, students at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business take online classes and communicate with other students around the world—something students 25 years ago couldn’t have dreamed of doing.

“This affords the opportunity to learn leadership, team-building and managerial skills by solving problems and coordinating efforts for projects through the process of establishing real-time meetings, coordinating time zones and dealing with potential language issues,” Sher Downing, executive director of online academic services at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, said. “This value cannot be mirrored as easily in a traditional classroom, and for many companies with offices located around the world, this is a valuable skill, when the workforce is required to handle these types of situations.”

Downing said that students can save money by taking online classes because they no longer have to commute, live on or near a campus or relocate.

The millennials surveyed by Northeastern University are keen to take online courses. In fact, nine in 10 said online classes should be used as a tool and mixed with other teaching methods. The poll also found that students want flex­i­bility, which is exactly what online colleges offer.

Employers may not yet see an online degree in the same light as a traditional university but that is likely to change in the near future. It may just be that millennials, who don’t want to go in debt for an education like some of their parents did, are just a bit ahead of educators and employers.

Related Stories on TakePart:

• Top Universities Want You to Take Free Online Classes in Your Pajamas

• Military Gives ‘F’ to Online Diplomas

• 2012 List: The Most Expensive Colleges in America

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Suzi Parker is an Arkansas-based political and cultural journalist whose work frequently appears in The Washington Post and The Christian Science Monitor. She is the author of two books. @SuziParker | TakePart.com 

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DJs who pulled Middleton prank, leading one of the nurses to kill herself, are victims, too: boss

EPA

DJs Michael Christian (left) and Mel Greig, who pulled the Middleton baby prank call that led a nurse to kill herself, won't be fired, their boss said.

The DJs who tricked a London nurse into patching through a prank phone call to her colleague caring for Kate Middleton won’t be fired — and their boss even painted them as victims.

“This is a tragic event that could not have been reasonably foreseen and we’re deeply saddened by it,” said Rhys Holleran, the CEO of Southern Cross Austereo, which owns 2Day FM.

“I spoke to both presenters early this morning and it’s fair to say they’re completely shattered,” he said yesterday in Melbourne, adding that the pair had been offered counseling.

Nurse Jacintha Saldanha killed herself after falling for prank

“These people aren’t machines, they’re human beings. We’re all affected by this,” he said.

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found dead yesterday after she transferred the call from the shock jocks posing as the Queen and Prince Charles, to the nurse attending to the Kate Middleton, the Dutchess of Cambridge, who was being treated for morning sickness.

That nurse — who has not been identified — gave up sensitive information about Middleton’s state to the snickering jockeys.

Scotland Yard has reached out to Aussie cops, who want to interview DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian over the death, which was classified as “unexplained.”

Greig and Christian were in hiding as the King Edward VII hospital ripped into the pair, saying the prank resulted in “the humiliation of two dedicated and caring nurses who were simply doing their job tending to their patients. The longer term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words.”

Saldanha’s husband mourned her loss on Facebook.

“I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances, She will be laid to rest in Shirva, India.”

Their 14-year-old daughter Lisha also posted, ‘I miss you, I loveeee you,” on Facebook.

Saldanha’s inlaws in Mangalore, India said she did not say anything about the pranks.

“Benedict used to call every day but he nor Jacintha said anything about what had happened. Everything seemed normal,” said her mother-in-law Carmine Saldanha, 69, according to Indian media.

“We got a call last night from Benedict informing us that Jacintha had died. He was crying and couldn’t speak much. We don’t know whether we’ll be able to bring her dead body back to India but we desperately hope so.”

Benedict’s sister said he was shattered.

“He was totally broken, sobbing uncontrollably,” said Irene, 63.

Greigs and Christian are unlikely to face prosecution, but the radio station is taking a financial hit after several sponsors cut their advertising over the flap. The station is not running any commercials this weekend.

Greig called the hospital around 5:30 on Tuesday, posing as the Queen Mother, and asked to speak to Middleton, who was hospitalized with severe morning sickness.

Saldahna patched her through to the nurse, who told Greig that Middleton was resting comfortably and had stopped vomiting.

The radio station initially apologized for the prank, but continued to advertise it on its website as the “biggest royal hoax ever” — even after Saldanha’s death was reported.

Prince Charles even joked about the prank on Thursday.

“How do you know I’m not a radio station?” he quipped when a reporter asked about Middleton’s pregnancy.

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Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade the funders in the room to part with some of their green and support the tech community.

Just 24 hours later, from an elaborate “dojo stage,” a drummer warmed up the crowd of several hundred before a “Council of Elders” entered the ring to share wisdom as the all-day free event opened. Called TekFight, part education, part inspiration, and part entertainment, the tournament-style program challenged entrepreneurs to earn points to “belt up” throughout the day to meet with the “masters” of the tech community.

The two events, which kicked off Innovate MIA week, couldn’t be more different. But in their own ways, like a one-two punch, they exuded the spirit and energy growing in the startup community.

One of the goals of the TekFight event was to introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the tech community, because not everyone has found it yet and it’s hard to know where to start, said Saif Ishoof, the executive director of City Year Miami who co-founded TekFight as a personal project. And throughout the event, he and co-founder Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, as well as Binsen J. Gonzalez and Jeff Goudie, wanted to find creative, engaging ways to offer participants access to some of the community’s most successful leaders.

That would include Alberto Dosal, chairman of CompuQuip Technologies; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of CareCloud; Jorge Plasencia, chairman and CEO of Republica; Jaret Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; and more than two dozen other business and community leaders who shared their war stories and offered advice. Throughout the day, the event was live-streamed on the Web, a TekFight app created by local entrepreneur and UM student Tyler McIntyre kept everyone involved in the tournament and tweets were flying — with #TekFight trending No. 1 in the Miami area for parts of the day. “Next time Art Basel will know not to try to compete with TekFight,” Ishoof quipped.

‘Miami is a hotbed’

After a pair of Chinese dragons danced through the audience, Andre J. Gudger, director for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, entered the ring. “I’ve never experienced an event like this,” Gudger remarked. “Miami is a hotbed for technology but nobody knew it.”

Gudger shared humorous stories and practical advice on ways to get technology ideas heard at the highest levels of the federal government. “Every federal agency has a director over small business — find out who they are,” he said. He has had plenty of experience in the private sector: Gudger, who wrote his first computer program on his neighbor’s computer at the age of 12, took one of his former companies from one to 1,300 employees.

There were several rounds that pitted an entrepreneur against an investor, such as Richard Grundy, of the tech startup Flomio, vs. Jonathan Kislak, of Antares Capital, who asked Grundy, “why should I give you money?”

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Senate President Don Gaetz cancels on governor to avoid rule violation

TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Rick Scott invited Senate President Don Gaetz to dinner Thursday and the senator gladly accepted, before realizing that going might violate Senate rules and the Florida Constitution.

Scott invited legislators to a holiday reception at the Mansion and Gaetz said he and his wife were invited to stay for dinner.

“They’ve asked Vicki and I to stay afterwards,” Gaetz said. “I guess he wants to talk to me.”

Scott often favors substantive discussions over small talk, and the success of his agenda in the second half of his term will depend in large part on Gaetz’s support.

Gaetz said the two men have not spoken since he became Senate president Nov. 20.

Reminded that Senate rules and the Constitution prohibit the Senate president and governor from discussing official business in private, Gaetz said: “I’ll try not to.”

But soon after,Gaetz canceled.

It may have looked like an innocent get-together at the most festive time of the year, and a spokeswoman for Scott said the event was “purely social.”

But under rules re-enacted by the Senate two weeks ago, the Senate president cannot meet privately with the governor without first issuing a four-hour notice to the public and news media.

No notice was given before Thursday’s event.

The Senate counsel, George Levesque, interprets the rule to cover social occasions between the two leaders, according to Gaetz’s spokeswoman.

“It was definitely our fault,” spokeswoman Katherine Betta said. “Next time, we will notice it.”

The Constitution contains a provision, approved by Florida voters, that says discussions of official business between the governor and Senate president or House speaker must be “reasonably open to the public.”

House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, was also invited to the reception, but said he could not attend.

Gaetz, a Niceville Republican, has set a tone different from his predecessors by calling for higher ethical standards for elected officials in Florida — especially legislators.

In his Nov. 20 acceptance speech as Senate president, he told the Senate: “You and I will be judged ... by what we do to reform the way we run elections and raise the standards of ethical conduct from the courthouse to the state house.”

Barbara Petersen of the First Amendment Foundation, a group that monitors government compliance with open meetings and public records laws, praised Gaetz for cancelling on the governor.

“I think this is the appropriate response and hopefully it sets the tone for the upcoming legislative session,” Petersen said. “Even though this meeting may have been less formal than others, clearly Sen. Gaetz takes the responsibilities of his office very seriously.”

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iPad mini fails to draw crowds for China launch

Either Apple’s (AAPL) reservation-only system works better than anyone could have expected, or consumers in China have little interest in the company’s new iPad mini. Apple’s tiny tablet launched on schedule on Friday but according to IDG News Service, the turnout for Apple’s new slate was minimal. At Apple’s new flagship store in the well-trafficked Wangfujing district in Beijing, for example, turnout was “nearly nonexistent” according to the report, with no lines forming at all on Friday.

We’ve seen Apple rack up big numbers despite small launch-day turnouts in the past, but Apple’s reservation system does not appear to be responsible for the seemingly slow launch — according to IDG, many consumers who did turn up at Apple stores looking to purchase an iPad mini were unable to do so because they weren’t even aware that the reservation-only system existed.

Apple’s iPhone 5, which will presumably draw more of a crowd, launches in China next Friday.

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Retired cop to save Chirstmas for Sandy victims

Thirty years ago, a rookie cop saved Christmas by reaching into his own pocket to help a Brooklyn burglary victim whose kids’ presents were stolen by a heartless Grinch.

That simple act of kindness by Don Costello, a now retired detective, has morphed into the city’s biggest toy give-away, one that will be celebrated tonight at the 30th Annual Children’s Christmas Benefit, at Our Lady of Lourdes, in Middle Village Queens.

Six hundred guests, including many local movers and shakers, are expected to appear with new toys or games, comprising a haul large enough to make Santa jealous that will be destined for Hurricane Sandy victims.

In 1982, Costello was a new cop assigned to the 69th Precinct, which covers Canarsie and East Flatbush, where he took a burglary report from a devastated Brooklyn bus driver whose apartment had been ransacked two days before Christmas.

The recently divorced victim had purchased two bicycles he hoped to give to his 5-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, but the bikes were gone, leaving the impoverished dad crestfallen.

“I took the report and went back to the precinct and called Catholic Charities,” Costello recalled, referring to the charitable arm of the New York Archdiocese.

There were some clothes available, but no toys, Costello recalled.

Unable to buy new bikes, Costello did buy presents for both children, telling the surprised bus driver they were donated by fellow cops -- a white lie that left the bus driver tearful with gratitude.

The heart-warming experience made a powerful impression upon Costello, who later became a detective assigned to the NYPD the Intelligence Division, where he helped guard Rudy Giuliani ‘s family at Gracie Mansion.

The following year, he and 10 pals rented a small hall for a Yule party and about 80 people showed up with donated toys -- and the event has snowballed from there.

He’s received contributions from the Durst family and Jack Rudin, both noted New York realtors, as well as Fred Wilpon, owner of the Mets and Dick Grasso, former head of the New York Stock Exchange.

The toy collection for this year is so huge, Costello and Catholic Charities will need a 17-foot trailer to pick them up and re-distribute them, a joyous task that will take place Monday.

Most of the presents are destined for hard-hit residents of the Rockaway peninsula and elsewhere in Queens, said Sheldon Peters, community project director for Catholic Charities Brooklyn/Queens.

Costello, a resident of Garden City, noted how several local politicians have slyly approached him in years past, trying to wrest control of his feel-good extravaganza, with promises of a top patronage post if he agrees to step aside.

Despite the overtures, Costello says he’s always politely demurred, insisting it’s all about the kids.

Those with new wrapped or unwrapped gifts or toys can present them at Our Lady of Lurdes’ school basement , at Springfield Blvd. and 93rd Avenue, from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m., and enjoy the free food and refreshments.

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VA, Jewish system reach deal to keep vets at home

The Veterans and Miami Jewish health systems announced a partnership Friday to lower government costs in a way that many experts say is needed for the feds to avoid the approaching fiscal cliff.

The arrangement by the Miami Veterans Healthcare System is intended to keep aging vets out of expensive nursing homes and keep them living at home with the support of a coordinated care network provided by Miami Jewish Health Systems.

The cost difference: Instead of $80,000 a year for a nursing home, the Jewish system will provide care that will keep the vets living at home for not more than $30,000 a year.

Jeffrey Freimark, chief executive of the Jewish system, said the partnership is “absolutely” an example of new strategies that can help lower the nation’s healthcare costs, which are the highest in the world — almost twice as high per capita as most European countries.

“There’s no doubt this program is a triple win,” said Freimark because it cuts costs, provides better coordinated care and makes vets happy because they don’t have to abandon their homes.

The program is open to Miami area vets who qualify for Medicare and are classified as needing nursing home care. They will be enrolled in the Jewish system’s Florida Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), which serves patients through centers in Northeast Miami and Hialeah. A third PACE center is scheduled to open early next year in the Westchester area.

Nurses will visit patients in their homes — and even doctors if necessary, said Cliff Bauer, the Jewish system’s executive director of community services. But most of the treatment focuses on vans transporting patients to the PACE centers. There, patients get primary care — with a full-time doctor, nurse practitioner, dietician and social worker. Rehabilitation, dental care and podiatry care are also available, along with adult day-care social activities.

Most patients go the centers about three times a week. “We believe very strongly in the need to continue socialization,” to keep the elderly active in mind and body, Bauer said.

The PACE model emphasizes the importance of a “medical home” that offers “highly coordinated care,” said Bauer. The Affordable Care Act emphasizes the need for such models as a way to avoid duplication of services and unnecessary care. Veterans will continue to see specialists at the VA Medical Center in Miami.

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Brownsville Christmas concert is next Sunday

The Third Annual Community Concert in the Liberty City/Brownsville area will be at 4 p.m. Dec. 16 at Bethany Seventh Day Adventist Church, 2500 NW 50th St.

Presented by the Historic Hampton House Community Trust, Inc., the free concert will be conducted by Dr. Nelson Hall and is entitled Bridging Classics of the Past with Classics of the Future. A highlight will be jazz great Melton Mustafa and the 2012 Community Mass Choir and Orchestra performing Handel’s Messiah

Miami’s own Mustafa has recorded three CDs and has performed with some of the top names in jazz, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman. He teaches at Florida Memorial University.

High school choirs and members of the community with the Messiah in their repertoire are welcome to sing along with the 2012 Community Mass Choir. If your youth group is planning to attend, please email trust@historichampton.net, so they can be acknowledged at the concert.

Christmas concert at Curley

The Archbishop Curley Notre Dame Prep School’s Troubadours Band and the school’s choral group, "The Knightingales," will perform at the school’s annual Christmas Concert, Keep Christ in Christmas at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at the school, 4949 NE Second Ave.

A donation of $5 is requested. For a donation of $20, attendees can purchase a ticket to enter a drawing for a 55’’ Westinghouse flat-screen television. Proceeds will benefit the school’s Technology Fund. The winning ticket will be drawn during intermission. Ticketholders must be present at the concert. For information call the school at 305-751-8367 or visit www.acnd.net

A serene holiday

The Miami Woman’s Club will present Shirlee Fernandez in a program, "Holiday Fitness and Serenity Tips."

Networking will begin promptly at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 11, followed by the program at noon on the RG Level of the Doubletree Hotel, 1717 N. Bayshore Dr., near the Omni. Hernandez has been in the fitness industry for over 20 years, and is a certified instructor. The program will be followed at 12:40 by lunch. The cost is $25 for members and $35 for non-members.

If you go, please bring a gift for a child, which the club will donate to different charities. To make reservations, send an email to nsmith2686@att.net or call 305-891-3789.

Vintage cocktails

The Hoxton at 111 SW First Ave, downtown Miami’s Hampton-style beach house, will host a "Vintage Cocktail Soiree" to benefit St. Alban’s Child Enrichment Center in Coconut Grove.

The party will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 13. Guests will enjoy hors d’oeuvres, live jazz from "glg," an ensemble of five renowned musicians from Miami Arts Charter, and a performance by Tony Wilson.

The cost is $25 per person and all proceeds will benefit St. Alban’s new early childhood literacy technology, engineering, math and science programs. You may purchase tickets at http//stalbanscocktail.eventbrite.com or call 305-677-8466.

Piano performance at Coral Gables Museum

The Coral Gables Museum Music Series will present Italy’s Ragazzoni Sisters performing Nutcracker for II Piano at 5 p.m. Dec. 15. Tickets are $40 for non-members, $30 for museum members and Dranoff members, and $10 for children. The museum is at 285 Aragon Ave. in Coral Gables. Call 305-603-8067.

Murder Mystery

Local actress Barbara Fox will be featured in the one-woman interactive murder mystery, "A Very Merry Murder," at 8 p.m. Dec. 14 the Cafe in Knights Inn, 26 Diplomat Pkwy. in Hallandale.

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