DMNews Script

JOEY
Hello and welcome to DMNEWS. Tonight we will be engaging in the story of whether to pay for a degree or to learn online. What are the pros and cons? What do other students think? That’s all coming up on this show. I’m Joey Alderson and this is your De Montfort News Report.

JOEY(continued)
Firstly we will be talking about whether to pay for a degree or to learn online. People are able to study a degree for free online. This is quite popular in the US, however twenty one universities do offer these opportunitiesin the United Kingdom. The courses include web science, literature and psychology which are taught by lectures from universities through the internet. Now I know what you’re all thinking, why aren’t more people grasping at these opportunities? Well, we have Dean here to talk about it. He has taken one of the courses and is willing to talk about the experience.

QUESTIONS

JOEY
what course did you take?

DEAN
literature.

JOEY
why did you decide to take an online course?
i enjoy literature and it is one of my hobbies knowing about other people invovled within it but mainly to gain extra knowledge.

JOEY
after taking the course what did you receive?

DEAN
at the end of the course i didn’t gain anything physically but i have learnt things that could possibily help me in the future.

JOEY
so you don’t reieve any kind of certificate?

DEAN
no. however i am already an english teacher, by taking this course online i have been able to gain valuable information in the field.

JOEY
are you saying that taking an online course is potentially only rewarding for people who already have a job?

DEAN
i wouldn’t know how to answer that as i already had a job in the literature world.

JOEY
what kind of help did you receive?

DEAN
the structure of the course was very helpful and allowed me to work on it around my job. there are lectures that i was able to get in touch with via the internet to receive assistance.

JOEY
what would you say to people who are undecided about going to university and have the option of taking the online course?

DEAN

i would always consider taking the course online as it is free and you have nothing to lose, if you are going to university just be sure that it is the carer path that you want to take.

JOEY
would it surprise you to know that two hundred thousand people signed up to the courses however only one in twenty people completed them?

DEAN
yes and no, i think that some people didn’t realise what they were getting into or maybe they found a different carer and ran out of time.

JOEY
do you think that there is a possibility that people will stop going to university all together and take courses online instead?

DEAN
unless there is a way of monitoring if it really is the person taking the course on the other side of the screen, i don’t think people will stop attend as they won’t be able to get a degree at the end.

JOEY
Thank you for talking with us. A few day ago I went out and asked students at De Montfort a few questions. Let’s take a look at the footage.

FOOTAGE

JOEY
Join us next time when we will have more exhilaration footage. A thanks to our guest for joining us and the students for answering our questions. I’ve been Joey Alderson. This has been DMNEWS. Thanks for watching.