The tension among diverse educational purposes is not new.
Educational systems are evolutionary, responding to pressures from within and from without.
The issue of online education is just one more manifestation of this conflict. My concern is that instead of faculty working together to figure out how we can best use various technologies to advance educational goals, we are stratifying ourselves into advocates and critics. There is a danger that if we do not lead the discussion about online education on our own campuses, decisions on how to use it will be made by others. Fortunately, CSM is listening to what teachers have to say, and development of online courses is driven by faculty interest. Being a campus pioneer in this venue I feel somewhat responsible for the controversy surrounding online education here.