State College Expansions

Criticism expressed by the Legislative Analysts Office about the planned UC expansion should be extended to the plans made by the State University and Community Colleges systems as well. The analysis focuses on efficiency, for the most part (Part I, Sept. 28). The state, and indeed the nation, desperately needs something better than just more of the same.

The UC wants three more campuses, the state university five and the community colleges at least 16 new campuses. Even if the state could find the money to build these campuses and staff them, the question arises whether this course of action is wise. Much of education today is so traditional that we could compare it to a horse and buggy means of transportation in a space age. The self-contained classroom is our standard format from kindergarten to Ph.D. Only at the master-degree level do we encounter much independent study. Extension courses and now a few bold experiments in video-remote classes offer some new options. By means of interactive communication a student and a computer can now react to each other in amazing ways that stimulate creativity.

We no longer have to attend a class to learn what the professor has to say. At the university lectures are often given and student work is graded by graduate students, anyway.

Most undergraduate courses can now be placed into a simple computer disc, and made available to any student, on the campus site or not. Teams of collaborators could develop courses with a level of quality much higher than what the average professor can deliver--and that includes me. Courses we now offer only in a self-contained classroom could be available to anyone, with untold advantages to our society. Existing facilities like schools, campuses and public libraries need little adapting to install terminals, thus empowering students, citizens and the private sector to benefit from the best learning opportunities available.

I have not invented the wheel here. I have seen portions of these ideas at work in the U.S. and in Europe. The biggest stumbling block may be the leadership of the three systems. They have already told the Legislature that they want more of the same. A modern approach can save us enormous sums of public money while vastly increasing the volume and quality of learning for all. JULIAN NAVA

Cal State Northridge