Improved Program Structure / GMBA-EN-BL2015-S2

As the program develops, we’ve noticed a trend that we would like to bring to your attention. We believe that perhaps more of us feel the same way, and therefore we share our thoughts and proposal. The competitive nature of the program sets a precedent that is hard to get away from. We, as a class, strive to achieve ever higher performance and quality in our work while generally restraining ourselves from public inquiry. In doing that, we progressively raise the difficulty level and develop a culture of unsustainable performance expectations while the learning rate remains unchanged. In particular, with regards to the forum, more often than not we see very long and thorough posts that dwell deeper into material than was covered during the video conferences. Furthermore, as we strive to compete in the eyes of the professors, we make excellence the new average and continuously spend more time performing research as the de facto method of distinction.Given the few hours of assisted learning we have per week, this balance of research vs. learning seems tilted and unfavorable to us all. It is with the interest of the class and professors, that we believe that a few alterations to the current status quo could yield a more fulfilling and valuable learning experience for the cohort.

For instance, during our Economic Environment and Country Analysis class, we spend considerable time researching data trends and their respective explanations, yet, we lack a channel to express our doubts in a non-graded environment. The same is true for video conferences and other courses, the chat during the conference is centered around the questions from the professors instead of questions to the professor. Professors have a limited time to cover numerous slides leaving little time for open dialogue of concepts and their applications. Moreover, the video conference chat is graded and is subjected to public scrutiny, thus, many shy away from asking questions. The competitive environment, while imperative for the program, must have boundaries in order to increase the value of the program for all participants.

It is with this is mind that we herewith propose the following:

 1.      Strict enforcement of forum post length by word count.

a.      the five-line rule is to be replaced by the use of word count. The new forum length limit is to be set at 110 words per post. This change will facilitate control of content length across different screen resolutions, font sizes, and font styles. Word count is available to all in the typing window of blackboard, therefore, regulation over word count is easy to maintain by each individual. Lastly, word count control allows greater flexibility for different forum posts styles that occupy space but are not content intensive, i.e., lists, tables, formulas, etc. while maintaining the same content limit.

b.     website links, attachment names, graphs, and images are exempt from this rule and will not be tallied towards post word count.

c.      professors should tag long posts with a warning for posts exceeding 125+

d.      professors must tag very long posts with a reply stating “due to length will not be counted towards participation” for post exceeding 140+ words

2.      Weekly forum post limit reduced to a maximum of 4 per forum session per class.

a.      The upper limit reduction to 4 will increase content quality per post while leaving room for others to add value to the session in a less time dependent setting.  

b.     the lower limit of 3 post per forum session per class is to be kept in order to provide the same freedom as afforded by the original conditions.

3.      every forum session should include a thread titled “Non-Graded Exchange” where professors and fellow students share their understanding of concepts, doubts, and questions.

a.      This will enable to mine the collective knowledge and serve the purpose of enhancing teamwork and collaboration across teams and classmates.

b.      The exchange can serve as a further benefit for the program content by allowing more productive hours available for reply. Depending on a single professor to reply to questions would be a slow process. Therefore, a non-graded exchange channel will improve the learning rate of the cohort.

4.      Video conference participation should not be graded and explicitly expressed by the professors during the video conference.

a.      A live competition creates an unfavorable environment for learning. We compete on forum participation, assignments, presentations, quizzes, and individual work. Adding a new channel that is more time zone dependent than all others is counterproductive. For instance: A student in UTC -5 could be more attentive during the video conference than UTC +9.

b.      Explicitly stating that the chat is not considered towards participation, the public scrutiny factor is decreased allowing for a more dynamic exchange of questions and doubts.

c.      An optional non-graded 30minute question & answer exchange before or after scheduled video conferences. To be requested by students but granted and scheduled by professors at a time and length that suits their schedule.

Fawez Razzak Holanda, Melina Ibarra, Michel Maalouli, Zeynep Celep, Alain Malaguti    Contact the author of the petition