The university of North Carolina plans to expand its online and distance learning offerings in an effort to keep its courses more affordable amid budget cuts.
4fb493a9c2ed8 officials said that they want to retain the quality of education given to their students even if next year’s budget will be significantly smaller.
The UNC system already has 135 online and distance learning programs with 74,000 enrollees. But the university wants to expand them to include more students.
“I don’t think there is anything in the world we can do to force a campus to move in this direction, but I think the president and I have both communicated to every campus that their campuses are going to demand this down the road,” said UNC board chairwoman Hannah Gage, adding that students would eventually demand more flexibility.
Gage acknowledged the difficulty in assuring students and their families about the quality of these modes of education, but said that more and more schools are giving it more focus.
In making their endorsement of the expansion, most board members cited the cost-efficiency offered by online and distance learning programs.
This sounds like a great idea, but I work in this system and the biggest problem is the lack of foresight regarding online learning. There is a tremendous market for online students in some very unqiue programs that could be marketed all over the Southeast and beyond, but they refuse to address the tuition funding models to entice out of state students to take UNC online programs. There is no reason not to offer in-state tuition to out of state students that take online programs – there is minimal cost to delivery them. This would GREATLY increase numbers in these programs. Other states already do this. You can’t expand online learning opportunities with antiquated administrative policies, procedures and funding models!
I agree BH. I work in this system too. I think the institutions also need to focus more on instructional design efforts and those who provide that kind of service as it relates to online courses. Instructional designers aren’t paid all that well, yet are relied on to ensure courses are properly built, etc. Also, I hope the UNC system understands that not all subjects work well online, and that some courses simply are not effective if there are hundreds in a section. Quality first!