| According to the inductive research train of thought,this paper mainly adopts the method of literature research,the author systematically collects,teases and censuses the electronic materials of 9823 online degree programs from 459 colleges and universities of 10 countries,including the recruitment advertisement,the professional training scheme,teaching plan,curriculum plan and so on.By reading a large number of foreign related literature about online education and online degree,the paper summarizes the development and status quo of foreign online degree programs(mainly high level degree programs),and reveals the purpose and characteristics of online degree programs,as well as the characteristics of the teaching process.The paper also analyzes the social significance,limitations and social acceptance of foreign online degree programs.Based on the field investigation of online higher degree education in some experimental universities in China,this paper finds that the existing problems are similar to those of foreign online degree programs,and demonstrates the enlightenment of foreign online degree programs to the improvement of online specialty education and undergraduate education and the development of high-level online degree education in China.The "online degree program" studied in this paper refers to the teaching program that colleges and universities award degrees to learners who meet the academic requirements through whole-course online teaching.These degrees involve bachelor’s,master’s and doctor’s degrees.It is found that foreign online degree programs have experienced three main stages since their emergence in the late 1980s:the long-distance education-based stage;the online degree program stage facilitated by computer and electronic communication technology;the open online degree project stage driven by MOOCs.Through literature research,it is found that most famous universities in ten countries,including the United States,Britain,Canada and Australia,have opened online degree programs by the end of 2020.These degree programs are mainly at bachelor’s and master’s level,and a few universities have opened doctoral level.The number of online degree is as many as that of traditional degree offered in each university.Based on a systematic review of the literature of 9823 online degree programs in 459 foreign universities,the main characteristics of online degree programs are as follows:cooperating with commercial platforms to build online learning systems;Curriculum degree is more than research degree;Applied majors are more than theoretical majors;The cost of study is lower than traditional degrees;It operates on the basis of the network and its equipment.On this basis,through three specific case studies of the Online Master of Social Work at Arizona State University,the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Online Master of Science in Computer Science and Arizona State University’s Online Doctor of Education in Leadership&Innovation,acombined with literatures such as cultivation program and teaching plan of other online degree programs in colleges and universities,this paper summerizes the three characteristics of the teaching process of online degree programs:the flexibility signed by"anyone,anytime,anywhere",learners’ autonomy,man-machine interactivity.Online degree program is the product of the development of computer network technology to a certain stage,its emergence has a wide range of social significance,it meets the needs of learners,universities,higher education and business platform these four main bodies at a higher degree level,each stakeholder not only obtains their needs,but also forms a joint force.Because of this social significance,it meets a so wide range of social needs that online degree programs have grown to such a size.However,due to the characteristics of "online",foreign online degree programs also show obvious limitations,such as virtual teaching situation,separation of time and space between teachers and students,and commercialization and so on.Therefore,since the online degree program came out more than 30 years ago,the foreign online degree program has been constantly controversial,and there is a more and more intense trend.Advocators argue that online degree program is flexible and autonomous,it breaks the time and space limits,creates new ways of interaction between teachers and students,and realizes a revolution in teaching ways.At the same time,it can expand educational opportunities and benefit the disadvantaged groups,it’s a booster of educational equity.Detractors argue that the quality of online degree programs is inferior to that of traditional degrees,and the interaction between teachers and students is delayed and limited,which will cause laziness and academic dishonesty,and also commercialization tends to spoil degree education.Therefore,according to present circumstance,all employers,all sectors of society and even each school itself,have big differences about the recognition and the acceptance of online degrees.Based on the above analysis,this paper holds that the further development of online degree program,especially the growth of its scale,will be an unstoppable trend because it meets a wide range of social needs.With the further development of the computer network technology,the online degree programs will be improved continuously in technology,the quality will also gradually strengthen,the social recognition and acceptance will be improved,but on the whole,it is difficult to achieve the similar or the same level of traditional degrees in the short term.Since 1999,some universities in China began to carry out the pilot of network higher education for academic qualifications,and 68 universities have carried out the pilot successively.According to the survey,the quality problem is the most important bottleneck.It is suggested to learn from the experience of foreign online degree programs and strictly control the enrollment threshold of online higher degree education to ensure the quality of training.Build a unified online education management platform on the basis of innovative technology;Strengthen project quality evaluation,pay attention to teaching quality internally,pay attention to periodical supervision externally,form an evaluation mechanism combining inside and outside. |
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