A Technological Advantage:
We’ve built tools that make it really nice for students. Rather than having an instructor mic their critique of a student, they can click a button and record a voice over. We’ve got a built in video tool, so right from the learning environment you can record yourself. We have the same “like” features you see on Facebook, so, if a student’s assignment has a particular note, a teacher can highlight it or another classmate can “like” it and it bubbles up accordingly. The tools are really robust. We have a video chat environment as well, so every week the instructor holds an hour-long chat session.
Going Legit:
For the past 10 years we’ve been doing continuing ed, so students pretty much self-assess, although we have a team of student advisors who help students find the right course or certificate program. We have programs that range from three to 12 courses. There’s currently no true application and admission process, but when we offer degrees in 2014 there will be. Students will be accepted into the program rather than just enroll.
Physical Meeting Virtual:
Up until now, [the schools have] been very separate, in that we serve two different audiences. On campus is typically the 18 to 22 year old undergraduate, full-time musician. Only 30 percent of the students who apply are accepted, so it’s a very special group we bring to Boston. The online school is typically adult learners, professional musicians who are trying to hone their skills or advance career opportunities. It’s a very different audience, but the on campus program is leveraging a lot of the Online efforts that we’ve developed in a way that makes sense for that population.
Making Things Flexible:
Our president, Roger Brown, would like to see the effective undergraduate students have the opportunity to take two years of study with the online program, from whatever country they live in, and then those credits would transfer in and they could come to Boston for two years. It would really make it more affordable. Another thing is that a lot of our students have opportunities, with the potential of never coming back. Perhaps they could study Online with us while they’re on the road and then continue when they’re finished. We think of the Online school as a tool to help the undergraduate population in so many ways.
The Global Classroom:
We often get faculty and students who are surprised by how [the international nature of Online] enhances instruction so much. You might be in a music licensing course and everybody’s focused on ASCAP / BMI for performance rights organizations. But then you have students from all over the world talking about how it’s handled differently with their organizations. It adds a whole new dimension and really makes a difference. Every course benefits from that international mix.
Real World Experience:
It makes a difference to our students to know that we’re applying the things we’re teaching to a real music project. Whether it’s marketing or production or songwriting, I’m learning from our courses and faculty in the same way our students are and applying it to a real music project and seeing the results. I don’t think I’d be effective in my role without that experience.
Learning Whatever’s Necessary:
We are branching into other areas of study. To be a musician today, it’s really important, for example, to have a visual presence with your music. My songs on YouTube get a lot more attention than my songs that are just on iTunes. So we have courses we’re developing in photography and video editing. We’re trying to arm musicians with the skills they need. It’s about whatever our students need and we’re really proactive in asking them what they want
Knowledge for Free:
There are so many resources available Online. We have sample lessons freely available, our YouTube channel has hundreds of lessons. We even have a website called Berklee Shares, where we have free Berklee lessons. If you go to http:// coursera.org/berklee, you’ll see the first four free courses we’re offering. It’s a wonderful time to be in charge of your own career and there are a lot of educational resources out there, especially from Berklee, to help support that.
