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Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

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Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#151

Post by k2xl »

rsanders wrote: post #146
k2xl wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that isn't what a masters degree is about. If you have a career and family to take care of and don't have time to go to classes, you probably don't have time to commit to a masters degree. And again there is no evidence that an online class from Georgia Tech would be any better than an online classes from anywhere else. Georgia Tech is reputable because of the faculty and research. How does that correlate to onli…

I fit into that category, and I'm taking 1-2 significant MOOCs (compilers, ML, data science, etc.) at a time right now. I can just make it work, but I wouldn't if I had to show up for class. The fixed schedule format of Coursera adds a bit of pressure, but probably also a bit of motivation. I agree that online classes from GT aren't guaranteed to be better than online classes from other places. Perhaps one day we'll…

That I guess is the 7000$ question. Is the perceived value of an online masters class worth it?

Consider this question. How many employers do you know say, "Oh we hire Ga Tech grads all the time! They are great to work with" I hear that quite a lot around where I live. I think it is due to the culture that Georgia Tech has as well as the in person interaction.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#152

Post by mikevm »

rsanders wrote: post #145
mikevm wrote: post #143

Does anyone know Georgia Tech's CS MS curriculum?

It's described here: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/future/masters/mscs/program The OMS won't initially have all the same courses (or specializations?), but the plan according to one of the GT videos is to reach approximate parity over time.

Thanks.

I can't wait to hear more on the admission process. Will they require a certain GPA? Will they need recommendation letters (as they do now)?

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#153

Post by jdreaver »

throwaway1979 wrote: post #135

It's actually a dark day: 1) Until now, the majority of University-affiliated MOOCs have been free. This just changed. 2) I find it immensely frustrating that as CS people, we are lowering the bar for what it means to have a Masters degree in our field. I'd be happy with this sort of activity if it was being done in all other fields uniformly and/or we had unions representing CS workers. Unions, in principal aren't b…

I totally disagree. What this gives students is a choice.

> 1) Until now, the majority of University-affiliated MOOCs have been free. This just changed.

You can take a free MOOC or a paid one.

> 2) I find it immensely frustrating that as CS people, we are lowering the bar for what it means to have a Masters degree in our field.

This provides the opportunity for thousands of people to obtain there master's degree without wasting large sums of money on tuition and upending their life for a couple years. If helping thousands of people means "lowering the bar," then so be it. Learning isn't a competition.

> 3) MOOCs will kill CS research.

I think the real reason CS research is dying is because the business model of academia is outdated (which, incidentally, is what Udacity et al are trying to fix). If I could have gotten my BS online for $5000, there is no way I would have gone to a physical institution.

> Undergrad teaching used to be the way academics supported themselves.

Right, and now I'm happy I can actually pay for my education directly without paying ridiculous amounts of money just to subsidize an outdated system. To call this a "dark day" is a slap in the face to those who are trying to make education available to everyone.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#154

Post by rsanders »

k2xl wrote: post #148
drharris wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's perfect for me. I also attended GT as an undergrad, but have since moved on with life, have a full time job and family, etc. I would love to interact on campus again, but it would hinder both my professional and personal life to do so. I don't plan on being in academia, but a MSCS degree will allow me more career opportunities. Online makes it easy for me to take the classes on a non-thesis track (which I'd be d…

I have to respectfully disagree with much of what you said. Just because it is from Georgia Tech doesn't mean the quality will be high. Georgia Tech is not the forefront of distance learning. Believe it or not, online classes are completely different than regular classes. Being in an online class you simply work with the material you have. There is nothing you will learn in an online masters class you couldn't find o…

There's nothing I could learn from the Coursera compilers class I couldn't have learned from a $10 used textbook, and yet the Coursera class did make a huge difference. As Good Will Hunting sort of mis-stated it -- you can get access to a $150,000 education's worth of information for the cost of a library card and some late charges. Or, given Khan Academy and all the MOOC companies, with a cheap netbook and an Internet connection. None of that information may cross the book/brain barrier, of course.

This clearly isn't a completely replacement for the existing Masters program. Yet it's a huge improvement over a stack of dusty books, and possibly, in some cases, an improvement over a stack of "Certificates of Accomplishment" from non-accredited MOOCs.

I don't think this is necessarily aimed at people just exiting a BS program. It has a strong "professional" focus. If you haven't learned to interact with people fruitfully and work in teams in your professional life, you're at a disadvantage.

As I said elsewhere, I believe a program like this requires more of the student than a traditional degree. You have to bring greater discipline, the ability to learn without interaction with the instructor, and as you point out, an assortment of other skills that you have acquired on your own.

I do hope that online educators find some way to foster similarly valuable interaction between students on team projects as opposed to keeping everybody in individual solipsistic relationships with the course automaton. It's a challenging problem -- who wants to depend on somebody without any, or much, skin in the game? How would it even work with the flexible schedules this kind of thing will attract?

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#155

Post by karpodiem »

Moto7451 wrote: post #111
wilfra wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am starting an MS in CS program in the fall (not at GT) and I just have a BA. They let me in, however I have to take a full academic year of remedial courses first[1]. I would imagine they will do something like that. [1]Calculus 1 and 2, Intro to Programming, Data Structures, Foundations of CS, Intro to Computer Systems, Intro to Computer Organization, Algorithms and Data Structures, Structures of Programming Lang…

Your local Community College might offer them online. I did most of my AS that way.

Most community colleges "CS" programs consist of IT courses, with a few CS courses mixed in. Which is a shame.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#156

Post by rjbez17 »

vasyainv wrote: post #128
fpp wrote: post #124

This all sounds really great and is definitely a step into the direction to make higher education more accessible - a few side notes (for those getting too excited) (1) There have been quite a few online learning (aka distance learning) degree courses from reputable universities for some time. For MSc / Master degrees until recently they all required at least some in-person workshops (normally 1 week long - for a MSc…

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign had an online Master's in CS as far back as 2001, I believe you had to drive down to campus for tests, though

Now you can go to local places that proctor the test. A few co-workers are doing this now from Minneapolis, going to a community college to take the tests.

Also, it costs about $7k a year assuming you are taking one class a semester for 4.5 years.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#157

Post by karpodiem »

izztmzzt wrote: post #149

I have a BBA, and would have hoped the requirements for the Masters course would have at least offered some way to let other majors apply. Limiting it to only BS majors will limit the participation of a large group of their current users. I guess the next thing they need to add is a undergrad in CS or something else to help bridge the gap.

We're in similar situations - I have a BA but would love to do a CS undergrad degree online. Most of the community college/online programs out there consist of IT courses with a few CS courses mixed in. Which is no where near the curriculum of a traditional CS program.

I really hope that someone offers an undergraduate CS degree online at some point.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#159

Post by rsanders »

k2xl wrote: post #151
rsanders wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fit into that category, and I'm taking 1-2 significant MOOCs (compilers, ML, data science, etc.) at a time right now. I can just make it work, but I wouldn't if I had to show up for class. The fixed schedule format of Coursera adds a bit of pressure, but probably also a bit of motivation. I agree that online classes from GT aren't guaranteed to be better than online classes from other places. Perhaps one day we'll…

That I guess is the 7000$ question. Is the perceived value of an online masters class worth it? Consider this question. How many employers do you know say, "Oh we hire Ga Tech grads all the time! They are great to work with" I hear that quite a lot around where I live. I think it is due to the culture that Georgia Tech has as well as the in person interaction.

I attended GT a long time ago (early 90's), so I might be out of date, but I wouldn't go far as to call it "culture". I kid, I kid! :-)

It's a notoriously demanding program. I hope they can adapt their "Take a look at the people to your left and right. One of you will not make it to graduation." scare speech/boast to the online format.

Re: Announcing Online MS in Computer Science in Collaboration with Georgia Tech

#160

Post by jere »

eitally wrote: post #91
recuter wrote: post #4

http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/faq/ > How much does the degree program cost? We’re not yet ready to announce a specific program cost, but the plan is to offer the Georgia Tech OMS CS for a total cost of under $7,000—a fraction of the cost of Georgia Tech’s on-campus program and even less than that of comparable private universities. > The total workload is the same as the residential program; the weekly or hourly worklo…

Personal anecdote: I just finished an engineering MS from NC State via their Engineering Online ( http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu ) program. The per-3hr-course cost for EOL courses is roughly $900. For the on campus version of the same thing, it's about $2200. For a 27 credit hour program, that came out to about $8k, which I thought was entirely reasonable given I [as a student local to the school] always had the o…

Interesting. I'm also doing an EOL degree from NC State (but an MCS). I'm nearly halfway through. I agree on the deadline thing. A couple weeks ago I asked for an extension due to family medical issues (never done this before) and the professor was very accommodating.

The biggest pain has been exam proctoring. It seems to all be done by hand (exams being emailed/faxed back and forth) and I've experienced every point of failure in the system. And strangely the professors always refuse to tell us when the exam windows are... haven't figure that one out yet.

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