Byalmostanymeasure,thereisaboominInternet-basedinstruction.Injustafewyears,34percentofAmericanuniversitieshavebegunofferingsomeformofdistancelearning(DL),andamongthelargerschools,it’scloseto90percent.Ifyoudoubtthepopularityofthetrend,youprobablyhaven’theardoftheUniversityofPhoenix.Itgrantsdegreesentirelyonthebasisofonlineinstruction.Itenrolls90,000students,astatisticusedtosupportitsclaimtobethelargestprivateuniversityinthecountry.
Whilethekindsofinstructionofferedintheseprogramswilldiffer,DLusuallysignifiesacourseinwhichtheinstructorspostsyllabi(课程大纲),readingassignment,andschedulesonWebsites,andstudentssendintheirassignmentsbye-mail.Generallyspeaking,face-to-facecommunicationwithaninstructorisminimizedoreliminatedaltogether.
Theattractionforstudentsmightatfirstseemobvious.Primarily,there’stheconveniencepromisedbycoursesontheNet:youcandothework,astheysay,inyourpajamas(睡衣).Butfiguresindicatethatthereducedeffortresultsinareducedcommitmenttothecourse.WhiledropoutrateforallfreshmenatAmericanuniversitiesisaround20percent,therateforonlinestudentsis35percent.Studentsthemselvesseemtounderstandtheweaknessesinherentinthesetup.InasurveyconductedforCornell,theDLdivisionofCornellUniversity,lessthanathirdoftherespondentsexpectedthequalityoftheonlinecoursetobeasgoodastheclassroomcourse.
Clearly,fromtheschools’perspective,there’salotofmoneytobesaved.Althoughsomeofthemoreambitiousprogramsrequirenewinvestmentsinserversandnetworkstosupportcollaborativesoftware,mostDLcoursescanrunonexistingorminimallyupgraded(升级)systems.Themorestudentswhoenrollinacoursebutdon’tcometocampus,themoreschoolsavesonkeepingthelightsonintheclassrooms,payingdoorkeepers,andmaintainingparkinglots.And,whilethere’sevidencethatinstructorsmustworkhardertorunaDLcourseforavarietyofreasons,theywon’tbepaidanymore,andmightwellbepaidless.
57.WhatisthemoststrikingfeatureoftheUniversityofPhoenix?
A)Allitscoursesareofferedonline.
B)Itsonlinecoursesareofthebestquality.
C)Itboaststhelargestnumberofstudentsoncampus
D)Anyonetakingitsonlinecoursesissuretogetadegree.
58.Accordingtothepassage,distancelearningisbasicallycharacterizedby_____
A)aconsiderableflexibilityinitsacademicrequirements
B)thegreatdiversityofstudents’academicbackgrounds
C)aminimumortotalabsenceofface-to-faceinstruction
D)thecasualrelationshipbetweenstudentsandprofessors
59.ManystudentstakeInternet-basedcoursesmainlybecausetheycan_____
A)earntheiracademicdegreeswithmuchlesseffort
B)saveagreatdealontravelingandboardingexpenses
C)selectcoursesfromvariouscollegesanduniversities
D)workontherequiredcourseswheneverandwherever
60.Whataccountsforthehighdrop-outratesforonlinestudents?
A)Thereisnostrictcontrolovertheacademicstandardsofthecourses.
B)Theevaluationsystemusedbyonlineuniversitiesisinherentlyweak.
C)Thereisnomechanismtoensurethattheymaketherequiredeffort.
D)Lackofclassroominteractionreducestheeffectivenessofinstruction.
61.Accordingtothepassage,universitiesshowgreatenthusiasmforDLprogramsforthepurposeof_____
A)buildinguptheirreputation
B)cuttingdownontheirexpenses
C)upgradingtheirteachingfacilities
D)providingconvenienceforstudent
57.A.Allitscoursesareofferedonline.
58.C.aminimumortotalabsenceofface-to-faceinstruction.
59.D.workontherequiredcourseswheneverandwherever.
60.C.Thereisnomechanismtoensurethattheymaketherequiredeffort.
61.B.cuttingdownontheirexpenses.
