Secretary's Column
By Dr. Rick Melmer
Department of Education

The Burger King Philosophy

I had an opportunity to work on my doctorate program through the University of Wyoming between the years of 1988 and 1991. When the program began, they were experimenting with an “executive program” that allowed people to take classes on weekends to satisfy the residency requirement. The program was unique in that you did not have to take a year off from your work to complete the doctorate program. It was controversial with some instructors. In fact, one instructor refused to teach a course due to his objections. However, as I reflect back on the program, the University of Wyoming was on the forefront of offering graduate programs in a more convenient way for its students.

If you look at the graduate programs offered today, many are offered with virtually no time required on campus. Often, the programs are completely online, which allows students to take courses at a time and location that works for them.

As I reflect on this trend, I am reminded of the Burger King motto, “Have It Your Way.” Burger King made its mark by trumping the McDonalds one-size-fits-all approach. Burger King allowed you to order a burger the way you wanted it prepared. In many respects, our educational programs are beginning to take on those same characteristics.

In this sense, higher education has paved the way that K-12 education needs to follow. What started as a one-size-fits-all approach to graduate and undergraduate programs, now has become a “Have It Your Way” approach. I am even being told that at some universities, at the undergraduate level, online courses are filling up faster than traditional courses.

How much longer will it be before our high school students are insisting that we look at our high school programs in a different way? How much longer will it be before online programs are going to be in greater demand than the face-to-face classrooms that we have all enjoyed in the past? The South Dakota Virtual High School is beginning to open that door, but I believe our customers – our high school students – will demand that the door be wide open within the next few years.

Online education isn’t how I have learned, and it is likely that I will never fully grasp the benefits of this type of educational programming. However, our customers are prepared for this type of service and will expect it, much like we have grown to expect to get a burger prepared just the way we like it. Frankly, I am encouraged about the direction we are moving and believe that it is necessary for us to better meet the needs of our customers. Preparing the educational menu for our customers can be looked at as a burden or an opportunity. Together, let’s embrace the changes and begin to imagine a high school of the future that looks different than the high school of the present.