Dive Brief:
- Yale’s plan to offer a hybrid master’s degree with the help of education technology company 2U has been substantially slowed down by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that the accreditation agency has made it harder to rapidly grow class sizes — instead of a six-month request and approval process, Yale could have to wait four years before being allowed to grow its program with online students.
- An alternate route would be starting the multi-year application process for a separate accreditation for the hybrid program, which lets students take classes online and perform clinical work at satellite locations near their homes, Inside Higher Ed reports.
Dive Insight:
Yale announced its plan to offer its physicians assistant program in a hybrid format last month. A new partnership with 2U would open up the program to students across the country. 2U already partners with the likes of UNC’s business school and USC’s school of education to offer master’s degrees that have generally seen great success. The Yale proposal has received criticism from students and alumni concerned that the online format would reduce program quality and undercut the credibility of physician’s assistants who end up with the same credential, according to Inside Higher Ed. The latest news about Yale’s program comes just as 2U has released an interactive impact report touting the quality of its online offerings and combating myths about the inferiority of online education.