Ara Shirinian: UCLA should continue to support, create accessible programs like BACON

At a time when increased competition and rising fees have pushed access to top-quality higher education beyond the means of many, at least one UCLA professor is bringing home the BACON for students around the world eager to learn.

Biology And Chemistry: Online Notes, And Tutorials (B.A.C.O.N. A.T.), UCLA, is an online tutorial for organic chemistry meant as a supplement to chemistry courses that uses pop culture and human health topics as tools to explain material in an interesting and relatable way. For example, one tutorial begins the explanation of stereochemistry by referencing Mass Effect, a popular video game that includes scientifically relevant material incorporated into its plot.

The project, which was started by UCLA chemistry professor Neil Garg, has been partially funded by the university, which has covered administration and operational costs while it is being used for UCLA. The important question is whether or not the university will continue to support it when it becomes a publicly accessible platform, or as it expands.

BACON shouldn’t have to wait to find out. While it has already started a $7,500 Spark campaign to raise money for an expansion, UCLA should be proactive and not only fund, but push other departments to create similar ongoing resources that stay free for students anywhere to use.

BACON only exists because of the dedication of its creators, who put in work without any financial incentives. The tutorial is intended to be free for everyone, so without proper funding no one will be able to adopt the platform.

Garg said that the same creative approach could easily be taken toward other subjects such as calculus, which is another difficult topic for students. However, it’s hard to expect other people to do this unless the administration actively approaches professors and asks them to create programs similar to BACON with funding in tow.

One of the most promising aspects of the platform is that it could be used by professors at community colleges who do not have the resources to develop their own tutorials, and will instead be able to implement BACON into their classrooms, effectively raising the quality of education at no cost to them.

Supporting projects like BACON allows the University of California schools to fulfill their promise of being more than just a collection of places where people can get degrees; they are publicly accessible research institutions that should promote new approaches to education that treat it as a good deserved by everyone.

In the past, UC schools have traditionally offered important resources to the public like access to top-quality libraries, but this isn’t enough, and we need to rethink what kind of services we can offer that take advantage of modern technology. Cost-effective and unique programs like BACON could help the UC evolve and bring its public service into the 21st century.

It’s increasingly difficult to justify yet another project in the face of rising student fees, and since the program is free and not intended to bring in revenue, it will need to be fully funded to work.

However, by evidence of the Spark campaign, which raised half the asking amount in only one day, programs like these are not that expensive to develop and don’t cost much to maintain. Unique services like BACON are worth the relatively low price necessary to keep them active.

What we need to do is make sure that everyone has access to quality materials that they can use to help teach themselves, regardless of whether they go to a university or not.

Even in times of financial hardship, we need to remember that we have a commitment to our community.

There shouldn’t be a price of entry for information, and giving more people free access to better educational tools is an excellent way to help lower the barrier.