By Henry Kronk, eLearning Inside
Numerous universities have taken steps to significantly expand their online offerings in the past year. Notably, Purdue acquired Kaplan last spring to adopt its online framework; the University of Massachusetts system laid plans to make their online degrees nationally available in December; and LSU Baton Rouge pledged to match its in-person enrollment with online students in January. Significant growing pains always come along with expansion online. In January, the faculty at Eastern Michigan University concluded arbitration with their board of directors for hiring a third party to take care of their online expansion. Professors continue to worry that, in the hands of a private company, their curriculum, courses, and degree experience will be compromised. The case of UT’s ITL confirms the fact that online courses are no silver bullet. Expanded course offerings must strike a compromise with the bottom line.
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