Digital Diploma Mills, Part 1

Of course they play a large role in the technical delivery, but little is known about the non-technical activities of the technicians that could have an influence on the instructional process. This type of role, if viewed negatively by the instructor, can have a huge impact on the quality of the presentation, yet many times the instructor and the technicians do not meet until the initial class meeting. Olenski also found that the technicians felt the instructors were given inadequate orientation to the equipment and really could not operate it until they had hands on experience. The technicians also saw a difference in the instructors who could adapt their styles to the technology, and those who could not. Those who adapted were, in the opinion of the technicians, superior in conducting the classes. So we see not only does the instructor need to adapt to the educational environment, they must also adapt to another person in the room that can help or hinder the delivery of the lesson.

Statistical measures such as expenditures per student and students per teacher provide metrics that control for the size of the education system. While enrollment data may be thought of as being very definitive in terms of concept and definition, there can be complexities in the classification of students, particularly at the postsecondary level, or between academic and vocational programs. Another element of potential data problems involves full-time and part-time students. The distinction between full-time and part-time enrollment can be important in ratios to finance and other variables that are optimally computed on the basis of full-time-equivalent students. The extent to which the full-time-equivalent of the part-time students can be calculated with precision can affect ratios based on these computations. Countries most often experience difficulties in computing full-time-equivalent enrollment at the preprimary and postsecondary levels.