Dive Summary:
- In a Wednesday meeting, University of California regents pledged to expand online education over the next few years--with UC students potentially taking about 10% of all their classes, an average of four, online--and also considered the idea of creating an online academy where students can earn a community college degree prior to attending a UC campus.
- These moves come due to pressure applied by Gov. Jerry Brown, also a regent, though UC President Mark G. Yudof acknowledged the opportunity presented by developing 150 new online courses for freshmen and sophomore by 2016 while promising faculty that the new courses wouldn't result in layoffs.
- Brown also urged UC leaders to hear from the leaders of MOOC providers Udacity, edX, and Coursera regarding how their courses operate and the potential for collaboration, though regents said more research into the benefits of these partnerships would be necessary before they could proceed.
From the article:
SAN FRANCISCO — University of California leaders pledged Wednesday to sharply expand online education over the next few years, possibly aiming to have UC students take about 10% of all their classes online — averaging four courses toward their degree. UC administrators also floated the idea of establishing a fully online academy that might allow students to earn the equivalent of a community college degree before transferring to a University of California campus. ...