2008 Woodie Awards
Webster corporation trudges through yet another semester
By: Stephanie Kiszczak, editor and Chief, and Anna C. Forder, managing editor
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: Opinion/Editorial
While students should be the focus of every university, such is not always the case for Webster. This university often acts more like a business than a place for learning.
Webster is irresponsible in its goals of expansion. Extended campuses seem to be sprouting up in every obscure city across the country. Often, these campuses are nothing more than an office building with the Webster name slapped on the front. Instead of investing money in new campuses in random places, it would make more sense to put money back into already existing campuses.
While creating a campus in every strip mall and office complex in America seems to be Webster's goal, these little outposts crumble the standards that should be met in order to label a classroom Webster.
Expanding Internet courses is a disgrace to the name of college education. The goal is to make a college education easily accessible to as many people as possible. It's impossible, though, to simulate a real classroom online.
The exchange of ideas and growth that comes from interacting with other human beings can never be taught online. Creating and accepting more Internet classes is an easy way for Webster to make money, but it does nothing to build the reputation of the school or the standard of higher education.
Webster should continue to expand online only if it wishes to be ranked among such prestigious institutions as the University of Phoenix, the poster child for online and strip mall universities of the world. This was once a respected university, like Webster.
Money spent to create mediocre satellite campuses should be used to rehab the Webster Groves campus.
While the new residence halls are pretty on the outside, they were quickly constructed, and it didn't take long for them to start falling apart. Students were without hot water for several weeks, maintenance requests weren't filled in a timely manner and students complain the walls are paper-thin. Webster should have loosened the purse strings and sprung for better quality housing for students.
Webster is irresponsible in its goals of expansion. Extended campuses seem to be sprouting up in every obscure city across the country. Often, these campuses are nothing more than an office building with the Webster name slapped on the front. Instead of investing money in new campuses in random places, it would make more sense to put money back into already existing campuses.
While creating a campus in every strip mall and office complex in America seems to be Webster's goal, these little outposts crumble the standards that should be met in order to label a classroom Webster.
Expanding Internet courses is a disgrace to the name of college education. The goal is to make a college education easily accessible to as many people as possible. It's impossible, though, to simulate a real classroom online.
The exchange of ideas and growth that comes from interacting with other human beings can never be taught online. Creating and accepting more Internet classes is an easy way for Webster to make money, but it does nothing to build the reputation of the school or the standard of higher education.
Webster should continue to expand online only if it wishes to be ranked among such prestigious institutions as the University of Phoenix, the poster child for online and strip mall universities of the world. This was once a respected university, like Webster.
Money spent to create mediocre satellite campuses should be used to rehab the Webster Groves campus.
While the new residence halls are pretty on the outside, they were quickly constructed, and it didn't take long for them to start falling apart. Students were without hot water for several weeks, maintenance requests weren't filled in a timely manner and students complain the walls are paper-thin. Webster should have loosened the purse strings and sprung for better quality housing for students.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
anonymous
posted 5/05/07 @ 9:16 PM EST
Kudos to you ladies. This needed to be said. Let us hope it won't fall on deaf ears and that it is not too late to bring Webster back to its roots.
Tony Blair
posted 5/25/07 @ 10:43 AM EST
If you have a Webster degree you don't it's quality to be eroded. Fix or shut down Webster Thailand.
Dada
dada
posted 5/25/07 @ 10:59 AM EST
Webster Thailand was purchased as a turn key operation from the University of Maryland. What a white elephant, whose laughing now.
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