John Henry Newman and Online Education

Abstract

Online education, when done well, combines the use of technology to provide feedback to a degree and intensity that replicates the tutorial system that Newman preferred. Well-moderated discussion boards, adaptive learning technology, rapid grading with resubmission, and collaborative documents can mimic a measure of the Oxbridge tutorial system for currently under-served students. Online education lacks residency, which was key for Newman. However, insofar as Newman required residency to be pastoral, intentionally aimed at the improvement of students’ souls, and insofar as current residential universities do not include a pastoral function, existing residential universities fall short of Newman’s ideal. Given his reservations regarding untutored residence, therefore, online education may be a compromise Newman would have been willing to make.