Virtually unknown a decade ago, big online teacher education programs now dwarf their traditional competitors, outstripping (超过)

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问题     Virtually unknown a decade ago, big online teacher education programs now dwarf their traditional competitors, outstripping (超过) even the largest state university teachers’ colleges.
    A USA TODAY analysis of newly released U.S. Department of Education data finds that four big universities, operating mostly online, have quickly become the largest education schools in the USA. Last year the four — three of which are for-profit — awarded one in 16 bachelor’s degrees and post-graduate awards and nearly one in 11 advanced education awards, including master’s degrees and doctorates.
    A decade ago, the for-profit University of Phoenix awarded 72 education degrees to teachers, administrators and other school personnel through its online program, according to federal data. Last year, it awarded nearly 6,000 degrees, more than any other university.
    Traditional colleges still produce most of the bachelor’s degrees in teaching — ASU topped the list with 979 bachelor’s degrees in 2011. But online schools such as Phoenix and Walden University awarded thousands more master’s degrees than even the top traditional schools, all of which are pushing to offer online coursework.
    "We shouldn’t be surprised because the whole industry is moving in that direction," said Robert Pianta, dean of the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education. "The thing I would be interested in knowing is the degree to which they are simply pushing these things out in order to generate dollars or whether there’s some real innovation in there."
    For-profit universities have been the subject of intense scrutiny in Congress. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, last week released findings from a two-year investigation showing that they cost more than comparable not-for-profit schools and have higher dropout rates. For-profits, the investigation found, enroll about 10% of U.S. college students but account for nearly 50% of student loan defaults.
    Online education schools, many of which have open-enrollment policies similar to community colleges, say their offerings are high quality.
    Janet Williams, interim associate dean for educator licensure programs at Walden’s Richard W Riley College of Education & Leadership, said her student-teachers must undergo a full semester in a real-live K-12 school as a "demonstration teacher," paired with a master teacher and supervisor in the school district.
    Meredith Curley, dean of the University of Phoenix College of Education, said many students are returning to complete their education after starting families and changing careers. Their average age is 33, she said, and many work while they attend classes. Becky Lodewyck, Phoenix’s associate dean, said teaching candidates must complete at least 100 hours of field experience. She said online classes are "incredibly dynamic" and have the potential to hold students more accountable than face-to-face classes. "You can’t hide," she said. "Everyone participates — everyone has to be fully engaged in the work."
What was showed in the findings released by Tom Harkin?

选项 A、Students in not-for-profit schools are much more likely to drop out.
B、Many students in for-profit schools can not pay for student loan.
C、It takes two years to investigate the dropout rates in for-profit schools.
D、For-profit schools have higher enrollment rates than not-for-profit schools.

答案B

解析 第6段第2句提到汤姆.哈尔金公布的调查。下一句指出,该调查还发现,盈利性大学招收的大学生数量占全国的10%,但其中无力偿还贷款的学生却占全国的50%。由此可见,盈利性大学的学生有很多都无力偿还学生贷款,故B)符合文意,为答案。第2句提到,盈利性大学的学生辍学率要比非盈利性大学的高,故A)与文意相悖,予以排除。文中说的是调查历时两年,而此项调查的内容并不仅仅包含盈利性大学的学生辍学率,故C)也与原文不符。文中提到,盈利性大学招收的大学生数量占全国的10%,由此可见,非盈利大学招收的学生数量应该占90%,远比盈利性大学多,故D)与原文不符,也可以排除。
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