Old movies depict the con man of the 1800's as a traveling medicine man with a miracle cure for all that ails you. He takes your money, gives you the worthless goods and is long gone to the next town before you realize you’ve been duped.

The phony doctor left town while he could because he knew if he stayed too long, people would become wise to his fraudulent behavior and they’d run him out of town at the least... and maybe worse. A century later we find the phony doctor of today not only never leaves town, but he also gets tenure - the right to stay and con citizens forever.

The con men are not just the teachers, but rather the administrators hell-bent on putting bulleted lists on their resume. Enrollment needs to increase. Everyone needs college. The door is open. We take the tired poor, the wretched refuse, which in today’s climate is celebrated for its diversity. Preparation is not a prerequisite. We’ll take your money and offer you elementary-level instruction until you are smart enough to take our college level courses.

In short, we are the Wizard of Oz. We do not give the scarecrow a brain. We give him a degree and he’s so proud of the degree he feels smarter... but feeling smarter is not the same as being smarter.

What passes for college-level is shocking. High school algebra can earn you college credit. Balancing a checkbook is an integral part of a college level business math course. The problem is the definition of college-level. As one former community college vice president told me “by definition, if we teach it, then it’s college level.”

Administrators leave the subject matter, specific content, student testing and course assessment all in the hands of the instructor. Who says the teacher did a fine job and that students received a quality education? The teacher.

A newly-minted interim dean asked me about doing a hybrid course. She called and offered me 2 courses - each 7 1/2 weeks long, running back to back.

From a student perspective, instead of 3 hours every Thursday for 15 weeks to get 3 credits, they will put in the same classroom hours and receive 6 credits. The interim dean - who never held academic rank - told me that the others (i.e. other teachers) were doing it, so did I think I could do it, too?

You have to be a teacher for many years to understand expectations in the classroom. The interim dean was recruited because previous deans who had an academic background kept running into quality issues among the faculty.

The President and Provost have an agenda and academic quality is not up for discussion. Demanding quality in the classroom won't make life easier for the student. Instead, we are having a 2-for-1 sale. Increased revenue for the college. Students receive their degree twice as fast. Faculty teach the same hours and make more money. Everybody's a winner.

It’s all part of a resume-enhancing exercise for the president. Increased enrollment. Met needs of a diverse community by offering alternative format courses. Thought outside the box.

Here's the rub. SUNY established guidelines for a 3-credit course. Typically, a 3-credit course will involve 3 hours of face-to-face instruction along with 6 hours of self-directed student work, including homework, reading the textbook and related tasks.

Are students prepared to devote 9 hours per week to a class? Not likely. When you double the workload speed, you should expect 18 hours a week for a 3-credit class. It’s true that most students do not put in 9 hours a week per course. I was one such student, but my grades accurately reflected my efforts as I balanced a part time job and college courses.

Today, it seems, with Dr. Ed U’s medicine shop firmly anchored in the community, no customer is too unprepared and no amount of effort is too little. It’s easy to explain why. 3 hours a week becomes the maximum. A grade of “C” becomes the minimum.

When people drank the worthless tonic a hundred years ago and did not get cured, they suddenly got a little smarter. Fool me once, shame on me. With so many Scarecrows out there, the pursuit of a degree trumps the receiving of a brain. And like the Scarecrow, they walk away prouder, but not smarter.

In a recent online discussion group, a member asked about surveys to assess student experience with online or hybrid courses. I offered a related question.

How do you determine that the "student learning" in an online course is at the same level of a "traditional" (on campus) course? I pointed out that the SUNY Learning Network discourages professors from offering online exams in favor of "points for postings."

My question was then forwarded from a faculty member of a nearby Community College to the SUNY Learning Network “guru” who was a pilot of the SLN program and one of it’s “great leaders.”

The “expert” said, in part:

“... We stopped collecting the data after it became clear to us that year after year students were equally satisfied with online and classroom courses, and there were no significant differences in student perceptions of learning, course completion rates, or final grades received...

I find it troubling that student perception of learning has been substituted for actual learning. How could a student - presumably with limited knowledge of the subject matter – assess that enough knowledge had been assimilated? You might as well ask a preschooler whether or not there are any words he does not know? Undoubtedly, he will not know of “any words he does not know.”

A professor of economics I know offered the following discussion thread with the direction that students should post a minimum of 6 postings.

Should educational quality be allowed to differ based on family income? Should vouchers be allowed to supplement a tuition payment at a private school, with the result that some children's quality of education would differ from other children's?

I cite typical student responses verbatim:

• I agree with you. I believe that education should not be based on the family income

• I agree with you. I believe that education should not be based on the family income. Family income have no reference to get a good education.

• All children should have same opportunity to take quality education.

Clearly these students had the opportunity to “take quality education” but that is not what they chose. This professor’s online classes are always full... and full of A’s.

An economics professor understands the laws of economics by minimizing effort and maximizing returns. With little or no work on the part of the professor, he receives his pay. The students, too, maximize their transcript while minimizing the late night cramming and stress. Truly economics in action.

Everybody’s a winner... unless we look at the laws of supply and demand a little closer. By flooding the market with college graduates we will (supply curve shifts to the right) reduce the value of a college degree. Making matters worse, when employers realize the college degree does not correlate with intelligence, common sense, or logical decision-making, the emphasis on hiring a college graduate (demand curve shifts to the left) will decrease, further eroding the value of a college education.

A college degree generated from an online “paper mill” isn't worth the paper it's printed on... even if it's not printed on paper. How do I know? Because there is a difference between a college degree and a college education... and I happen to have both.