Correct Answer: how far online degrees should replace campus programs
Passage Reference: I also believe some provincial ministers are about to push them too far
Why this is correct: The columnist praises online degrees but worries that ministers will push them too far. Every speaker then gives a view on where online study fits and where campus time is still needed.
Tips: For a question about the whole column, look at the opening and closing paragraphs. The right choice covers what all the speakers are arguing about, not one side detail.
Why the other options are wrong:
- whether universities should raise tuition next year: Tuition is never discussed. The column is about how far online degrees should go.
- how students can find part-time jobs on campus: Parmar mentions shift workers, but finding jobs on campus is never the topic.
- why rural internet service is still so slow: Internet speed is never discussed. The columnist studied by mail, and no one talks about slow service.
Correct Answer: Rupert Forsythe
Passage Reference: says some managers still see a fully online transcript as weaker proof that a graduate can work in a team
Why this is correct: Rupert Forsythe says some managers still see a fully online transcript as weaker proof that a graduate can work in a team. So those graduates may face doubts when they apply for jobs.
Tips: Read each speaker’s job first. Then ask whose worry is about life after graduation, not about teaching or access.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Imogen Parmar: Imogen Parmar argues that online majors widen access. She does not raise doubts about how employers see graduates.
- Vesna Toor: Vesna Toor worries about thin feedback in large sections, which is about teaching, not about hiring.
- Oswin Yilmaz: Oswin Yilmaz talks about accessibility tools and residencies, not about how managers judge transcripts.
Correct Answer: a finding that very large sections get thinner feedback
Passage Reference: giant online sections without teaching assistants leave students with thin feedback
Why this is correct: Toor warns that giant online sections without teaching assistants leave students with thin feedback. A finding that very large sections get thinner feedback would support her position.
Tips: First look for Toor’s reason for her view. Then pick the proof that would make that reason stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- data showing completion rose with evening exams: Higher completion with evening exams is Parmar’s evidence that online study works, not support for Toor’s worry about feedback.
- a survey of managers who distrust online transcripts: Managers’ doubts about transcripts would support Forsythe, not Toor’s point about class size.
- reports that captions help students with hearing loss: Captions relate to Yilmaz’s concern for accessibility, not to Toor’s point about large sections.
Correct Answer: accessibility tools would be paid for before launch
Passage Reference: only if captions, testing with screen readers and quiet exam rooms are paid for before a program opens
Why this is correct: Yilmaz says online study can free students with disabilities. But he adds a condition: captions, testing with screen readers and quiet exam rooms must be paid for before a program opens.
Tips: Yilmaz’s condition sits after the words “but only if”. Read the whole clause and match its idea in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- all exams would move back onto campus: Yilmaz wants quiet exam rooms arranged, not every exam moved back to campus.
- hands-on majors would go fully online: Yilmaz sides with Forsythe that hands-on majors need short residencies, so they would not go fully online.
- students would buy their own screen readers: Yilmaz wants the program to pay for accessibility before it opens, not students.
Correct Answer: supportive, with limits for hands-on fields
Passage Reference: the online degree deserves to grow, but not everywhere at once ... Nursing, engineering and fine arts need at least a short residency
Why this is correct: The columnist says online degrees are one of the best things to happen to universities. They deserve to grow, but not everywhere at once. Nursing, engineering and fine arts still need a residency.
Tips: Read the last paragraph. Note how the writer talks about online degrees there, then test each choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- hostile to any course taught online: In the first paragraph, the writer calls online degrees one of the best things to happen to universities. So the attitude is not hostile.
- indifferent, since it barely affects the columnist: The writer earned a degree by mail and cares a great deal about the question.
- eager to replace campuses entirely: Look at the last sentence: online seats should be a second door, not a replacement for the building.
Correct Answer: families should not have to move for a degree
Passage Reference: Nobody should have to move a family two thousand kilometres to earn a degree
Why this is correct: Parmar told the senate, “Nobody should have to move a family two thousand kilometres to earn a degree.”
Tips: Parmar’s words to her senate are quoted in the second paragraph. The right choice gives the same idea in shorter, plainer words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- online degrees should cost less than campus ones: Parmar never compares prices. Her point is that students should not have to relocate.
- every course should include a campus week: The campus week comes from Forsythe, and only for hands-on fields, not every course.
- northern students prefer to study in cities: Parmar says northern students cannot relocate, not that they prefer cities.
Correct Answer: weekly live seminars in every program
Passage Reference: she wants weekly live seminars in every program
Why this is correct: To keep students from feeling alone, Parmar wants weekly live seminars in every program.
Tips: Read Parmar’s lines to the end and find what she wants for students. Match it in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a campus week every summer: A week on campus is Forsythe’s idea for hands-on fields. Parmar asks for weekly live seminars.
- monthly exams held in person: Parmar mentions supervised evening exams online, not monthly exams in person.
- evening office hours by phone: Phone office hours are never mentioned. Parmar wants live seminars.
Correct Answer: companies end up training graduates themselves
Passage Reference: Otherwise we end up running our own training camps
Why this is correct: Forsythe, the employer liaison, says that without time on campus, “we end up running our own training camps.”
Tips: The comment calls him “the employer liaison”. Go to his quoted words at the end of the second paragraph and ask what they mean for employers.
Why the other options are wrong:
- most managers hire only campus graduates: Forsythe says some managers have doubts, not that most refuse to hire online graduates.
- online transcripts are hard to verify: Forsythe questions what an online transcript proves about teamwork, not whether it can be checked.
- teamwork cannot be taught at all: Forsythe thinks a week on campus helps build these skills, so he believes they can be taught.
Correct Answer: caps and testing budgets that grow with enrolment
Passage Reference: She will back Parmar’s goals only when class caps and budgets for secure testing grow with enrolment.
Why this is correct: Toor will back Parmar’s goals only when class caps and budgets for secure testing grow with enrolment.
Tips: Toor’s support depends on a condition marked by “only when”. Read that clause closely and match its idea in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a ban on recorded lectures: Toor mentions polished videos but never asks for recorded lectures to be banned.
- higher pay for online instructors: Toor asks for class caps and testing budgets, not higher pay.
- one exam per course, held on campus: Toor wants budgets for secure testing, but she never says exams must be held on campus.
Correct Answer: earned a degree by mail up north
Passage Reference: Twenty years ago I earned my own degree by mail from a cabin north of Yellowknife
Why this is correct: Look at the first paragraph. The writer says, “Twenty years ago I earned my own degree by mail from a cabin north of Yellowknife.”
Tips: The comment speaks to the writer directly, so look at what the writer says about their own past. That personal detail comes early in the column.
Why the other options are wrong:
- taught online courses for a decade: The writer studied at a distance. Nothing is said about teaching online.
- dropped out of a campus program: Notice that the writer finished a degree by mail and never mentions leaving a campus program.
- hired graduates for a mining firm: Hiring is Forsythe’s area. The columnist never mentions working for a mining firm.
