Dive Brief:
- A task force convened by the Board of Governors for the State University System of Florida is poised to present a strategic plan to guide growth of online education in the state.
- Campus Technology reports the state's universities will work together using a systems approach, with one recommendation being to use shared services and take advantage of affordable educational content for cost savings.
- The plan presents strategies for improving quality, expanding access, and using online education to meet the state's workforce needs.
Dive Insight:
The task force's strategic plan presentation comes shortly after the state's UF Online program got a major shakeup with the premature end to its partnership with Pearson. The legislature gave the university less than a year to launch UF Online but the goals of elected officials, university administrators, and Pearson were not reached.
While the legislature mandated charging in-state students just 75% of residential tuition for the online program, the strategic plan includes a note about understanding the true costs of online education, saying most Florida schools tack on a distance learning fee to cover costs.
Online programs seem like a way to save money while offering an education but schools across the country are finding out the distance learning format is not necessarily cheaper.