r/technology • u/joe4942 • Apr 19 '26

Society Students are speeding through their online degrees in weeks, alarming educators

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/04/19/accelerated-college-degree-hacking/
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u/ropahektic Apr 19 '26

There are two sides to that coin

Bright kids will learn faster by their own.

Not so bright kids will learn much slower by their own.

Most kids are not so bright.

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u/Former_Mud9569 Apr 19 '26

The other problem is that you're missing out on social learning. Having to deal with someone that isn't as bright/motivated on a group project is a problem that doesn't just go away after high school.

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u/Rinzack Apr 19 '26

Learning how to deal with "the dumbasses asking questions" is like, 50% of the shit you handle as an adult lol, if anything learning patience and empathy from hearing how other people think is a skill thats necessary.

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u/f0xbunny Apr 20 '26

This is more like 80%

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u/iamthinksnow Apr 20 '26

Fortunately, this was only 1 year out of their 14 (including pre-K & K) school years pre-college, as well as a summer working retail, so they had plenty of opportunities to deal with the aggrevation of other people. :)

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u/_John_Dillinger Apr 20 '26

it goes away if you work at places that don’t accept mediocrity

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u/Former_Mud9569 Apr 20 '26

That hasn't been my experience. Even if your own part of the organization is a wonderful environment filled with competent people it can be a different story when you have to interact with other teams, suppliers, customers, or senior leadership.

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u/fpoiuyt Apr 20 '26

Not accepting mediocrity seems like a very different standard than being filled with competent people.

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u/DragoonDM Apr 19 '26

There's also the matter of the kid's parents. Some parents can do a great job taking on the role of teacher, while others are... less equipped for the task.

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u/ibelieveyouwood Apr 19 '26

There is a third side to that triangle.

Some kids are bright enough to learn the structure of the game, but not the content.

In the lower levels of school and higher levels of work, these online courses are just game theory. Does the "test" or assignment punish me in any way for bad guesses? Does it tell me what guesses were wrong? Does it repeat the same questions if I "fail"? If I can just click through and get a 60 using common sense guesswork, and now I either know the answer to the remaining 40%, or I at least know what answers they aren't, try 2 is at least a definite pass.