Interesting article about athletes taking online classes. Evidently, UM is the only public P5 program that does not offer online classes to athletes.

Submitted by Tom Burke on December 25th, 2019 at 7:02 AM

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/online-classes-keep-football-players-out-of-academic-fray/ar-BBYh6Wg

I like Rhule’s thoughts on this, but there is some compelling evidence that taking online courses will improve the performance of your quarterback. 
/s

SugarShane

December 25th, 2019 at 7:31 AM ^

Honestly, trudging through snow on a 4 degree day to watch a lecture that you could just as easily watch on your computer Is a joke in 2019.
 

If I graduated med school having not attended a single lecture in person, so can these students. It is more optimal for learning in every way. rewind when you zone out on the important parts, speed up when you have a slow boring speaker, pause to reference a part you don’t understand. 
 

If this is the norm in college nowadays, then Michigan is just being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn

Joined: 10/19/2011

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Benoit Balls

December 25th, 2019 at 2:41 PM ^

I worked an IT support job that was 90% home based for 4 years. I got MORE done, because of two things: First, I didnt want anyone thinking I was slacking off so I was sure to hit all my benchmarks and reply to IM's immediately so that people wouldnt think I was off in another room watching the Price is Right.  Second, I would do lots of work outside of assigned hours because I was set up to do so from home, and if it mean I could do something remotely that another tech wasnt set up for, and I could save them from having to go into the office, well, I figured that was just the right thing to do. I never turned down an off hours request, mainly because I was lucky enough to be able to do things without having to leave the house.

Now that Im on another job where Im required to be on location every day, there are many times I have to tell my boss I cant accommodate a request to work late because I need to be home for family responsibilities. This job doesnt allow for telecommuting, so once I leave for the day, that's all I can do until the next day.

Joined: 11/27/2010

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Bluesince89

December 25th, 2019 at 10:24 AM ^

Fuck off with this soft bullshit.  Labor statistics show millennials work more and take less time off than prior generations.  I’m much more productive at home and I’m not wasting over an hour commuting.  Snow or bad weather compounds that time.  There’s no point in wasting that time just to prove a point to someone who doesn’t care.  It doesn’t make you tough - it’s just dumb.  

Joined: 09/14/2008

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RockinLoud

December 25th, 2019 at 11:03 AM ^

Indeed, classic ignorant Boomer bull shit.

What's ironic is the Boomers talk all this crap about toughness and blah blah blah, yet the vast majority of the ones I know do nothing but complain about every little inconvenience. Meanwhile actual statistics, to your point, show that Millennials work more hours, have less time off, make significantly less money for equal type of jobs when inflation is accounted for, and have a lower overall quality of life than Boomers had. Yeah they can fuck off with the fake platitudes and false perception of reality, all the while pulling up the ladder behind them with the legislation they pass.  And that's only a small piece of the pie when it comes to them. History will not be kind to the Boomer generation.

Joined: 10/12/2008

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turtleboy

December 25th, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^

Sweeping generalizations prejudicial against tens of millions of people with lots of cursing thrown in for good effect are my favorite kind of arguments. They're always well thought out, and 100% accurate. Thank you for your valuable insight. Personally I find the baby boomer vs millennial argument to be a moot point, and think the better comparison would be millennials compared against generation x.

Joined: 04/22/2011

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Unicycle Firefly

December 25th, 2019 at 9:25 AM ^

I don't think it's necessarily the idea of players like Fields taking online classes, but rather the fact that pretty much everyone knows he isn't the one sitting at the computer or doing the work. At least the act of physically going to a classroom levels the playing field somewhat, because then players like Fields aren't de facto pro athletes who spend literally all day, every day at the football building.

Joined: 10/01/2013

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Dr. Detroit

December 25th, 2019 at 10:32 AM ^

Physically going to a classroom can be a sham too.

I have a relative who attended Ohio State who found Fields’ only taking online classes ridiculous.  She then told me how she had a class with Ezekiel Elliott where he only showed for class three times.  Each happened to be when someone stopped by to check that he was attending class.  He didn’t even bother bringing supplies like a writing utensil.

Joined: 01/12/2019

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Dash Ripprock

December 25th, 2019 at 2:05 PM ^

You’re assumption that Fields isn’t doing his own work is based in what?

Fields coming out of HS was considered an exceptional student.  Pat Fitzgerald at NU is on the record in saying that he heavily pursued Fields.  Harvard recruited him as well. I understand that Harvard admissions for an athlete are not the same as a non athlete, but nonetheless, it’s Harvard.

The academics angle for OSU’s success vs Michigan has been well overplayed.  

Joined: 09/08/2018

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badandboujee

December 25th, 2019 at 9:30 AM ^

More true for med school...professors spend an entire hour covering a topic that isn't even relevant for step or very low yield.

For undergrad I can see the advantages of going to some classes--it engages discussions between students, etc but maybe not for the big didactics 

Joined: 01/10/2017

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benzolamas

December 25th, 2019 at 9:41 AM ^

Not true in every case. I work at a P5 university where we decided to offer a tech based class online thinking the topic matched the model of teaching. We did this for five years. 
 

The students complained every year that they needed one on one or at least in person help with understanding the material. The class is now hybrid with a one day a week in person meeting

Universities love online classes as they are cheap. You can get hundreds of people enrolled and hire an adjunct for cheap ... and there are no physical overhead costs  ... just pure profit with no discernible benefits to the students outside of keeping them from walking in the cold to class

 

Joined: 09/20/2014

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BlueInWisconsin

December 25th, 2019 at 9:44 AM ^

Can you tell me which clinic you’re at so I can make sure to avoid it?

Seriously though, online learning is not for everyone.  Only the most motivated people benefit from it.  For the rest it’s just joke classes for easy credit.   I don’t believe for a second that Justin Fields is doing a minute of work for any of his online courses.   

Joined: 03/27/2009

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Sandy Lyles Revenge

December 25th, 2019 at 11:41 AM ^

Surgical residency is quite different from medical school. And even still third year is when clinicals start, with some sprinkling in during second year that is unavoidable. 
 

to think that streaming or live viewing first and second year lectures has any impact on your ability as a physician just shows how little you know about physician training. 

 

Joined: 02/20/2019

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MGoSteven

December 25th, 2019 at 1:20 PM ^

You do realize that having access to recorded lectures is not exclusive to online courses? Several of my classes had the lectures posted online for you to go back and rewatch, but they still required me to attend discussion sections. I graduated in 2012, so I imagine that the availability of recorded lectures had gone up significantly since them. So I don't think Michigan is behind the times or stubborn, they are just trying to prevent abuse and force onc engagement because it's best for everyone, students, professors, and GSIs.

Joined: 03/28/2010

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BlueTimesTwo

December 25th, 2019 at 9:30 PM ^

I think that there is a big difference between medical school and an athlete attending undergrad.  Med school students are older, have already successfully completed undergrad, and complete their classes in the hopes that they will advance their career of choice.  Many athletes do not attend college for the academics, but they do attend classes (for the most part), because it is part of the student-athlete arrangement, and their only real concern is their pro careers.

I think we can all agree that the athlete experience is already different from that of the average student.  Online classes, although valuable in certain contexts, provide an easier way to separate the athlete experience from the academic one.  It is one more step towards dropping the charade of amateurism that some schools employ.  Whether or not you think that is a good thing is a different debate.

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