For the average student body it may be fair to charge, and $2.50 it a pretty reasonable fee in my opinion. However, there are circumstances where the lectures should be made accessible. For students with learning difficulties or hearing problems it's not fair to charge. Also, much depends on the quality of instruction. If the professor is an 80 year old Russian eccentric that's virtually impossible to understand, then free lecture downloads should be mandatory.
A Japanese friend of mine studied at the University of Florida for a year. Her English began pretty shakily and she had difficulty with one of her classes. The professor was new, spoke too quickly and made roundabount, indirect points. He charged around $7.50 for one 24 hour access to the lecture, or $15 for unlimited access. Since this was a three day a week class, that would get prohibitively expensive. Ironically, he was a marketing instructor.
I understand the desire of Professors to profit beyond their normal salary, but there is definitely a point beyond reason where its more akin to extortion.
It's like a red-headed step child that charges you to get angry at him.
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For the average student body it may be fair to charge, and $2.50 it a pretty reasonable fee in my opinion. However, there are circumstances where the lectures should be made accessible. For students with learning difficulties or hearing problems it's not fair to charge. Also, much depends on the quality of instruction. If the professor is an 80 year old Russian eccentric that's virtually impossible to understand, then free lecture downloads should be mandatory. A Japanese friend of mine studied at the University of Florida for a year. Her English began pretty shakily and she had difficulty with one of her classes. The professor was new, spoke too quickly and made roundabount, indirect points. He charged around $7.50 for one 24 hour access to the lecture, or $15 for unlimited access. Since this was a three day a week class, that would get prohibitively expensive. Ironically, he was a marketing instructor. I understand the desire of Professors to profit beyond their normal salary, but there is definitely a point beyond reason where its more akin to extortion. It's like a red-headed step child that charges you to get angry at him.