State Universities Should Move Online More Agreessively: Report Argues

“Public universities have a long history of adapting to technological change,  but they must speed up their embrace of online education — and work together to  do so — to remain at the forefront of educating the citizens of their states  and the country, argues a new report from two Washington research groups. “State U  Online,” from the New America Foundation and Education Sector, traces the  history of public universities and of online education and suggests that major  public universities have been slower than other sectors — especially for-profit  higher education — to incorporate digital learning into their offerings. The  author, Rachel Fishman of New America, argues that the institutions are best  positioned to offer a high-quality, affordable digital education that is  “grounded in public values,” and offers a roadmap for doing so, including  creating a clearinghouse where state institutions can “collaborate to provide an  easy-to-search library of online courses and degrees,” sharing contracts for  digital platforms and online support services to meet multiple institutions’  needs, and sharing credentialing beyond state  borders.”