Currently the only way that adults are being able to afford furthering their education is through working full-time while attending school. Colleges and universities are now more willing to offer nighttime and weekend classes to increase their enrollment and attendance and to be like the rest of the universities surrounding them and catering to an additional group of college students outside of the eighteen to twenty-two year old bracket.
What is fascinating though is the large amounts of group assignments that are being dispersed to those full-time employed, part/full-time school students. Projects and presentations are being assigned to team members where scheduling and availability challenges are the first thing discussed. This challenge complicates the ease of the group assignment by only allowing text message, over the phone, email or an online discussion board communication to complete important group tasks. Because of the challenging communication methods, groups are being required to set steeper consequences for failing to communicate and a quicker dismissal from the group.
Is this truly a reliable form of introducing students to a more collaborative and dependent working environment? Professors explain that these group exercises are helpful for what is to come in the real world, but many of these day-job employed students are currently working in the real world, and don’t collaborate this much where it is dependent on a grade, often financial aid, and a better education.
Are professors stuck in a rut, where assigning group projects are easier to grade, and easier to dole out critiques? Or do they honestly believe that it is preparation for the real world and how big work presentations and projects are completed? No all jobs are group assignments. They are however relied on for the money, but isn’t more at stake for the college career than the already obtained, usually stable job?