Skip to content

Appendix 2: support for/against a flat course fee within NBIS

It is unknown to which extent there is support for a flat course fee. Hence, I have asked NBIS and non-NBIS teachers in online courses for their response to having an online course fee to increase the certainty of a high attendance. I did so without disclosing my own views.

So far, the reactions are around 50-50.

Suggestions given by those in favor of the course fee:

  • Consider using a no-show fee instead: this may be a good option too
  • Charging a fee increases the investment with a course
  • The course fee amount not a problem, as this will be paid by supervisors, not the students themselves
  • The course fee is too high

Suggestions given by those that are against a course fee:

  • A course fee introduces more hurdles for entry, such as convincing a PI to pay for it, followed by the administrative processes that follow.
  • The course fee is too high and it should not be more than 500 kroner.
  • A fee will reduce the amount of participants, which will hurt courses that have a low amount of participants. Instead, learners will increasingly turn to AI (as long as this is perceived as free)
  • A fee solves a problem that does not exist, as there are enough teaching assistants within NBIS

Other suggestions:

  • It depends on the course setup: If courses need to book more teaching assistants for more learners (e.g. when there are a lot of discussions), then, yes, having a course fee is a good idea. However, some activities (e.g. automated tests) do not require more teaching assistants when there are more learners. In such a context, a course fee in not needed.
  • Only accept a course fee paid by an institutional account: this would assure that participants do not pay from their own money
  • Allow participants to follow the course at a reduced fee: this would assure that participants with access to less financial resources can attend anyways

Although this small poll shows some numbers, the winner is not decided by mere voting (in that case, the course fee would be removed). Instead, a more useful question is to what kind of training should be catered too. For example, should we cater to teachers that struggle with an uncertain amount of participants, or to those that do have the pedagogic tools to deal with such uncertainty. Additionally, should we focus on teachers that see teaching in an economic businesslike way, or to those that intimately care about the profession.