Tim Nesbitt, who served Governor Kulongoski as chief of staff and on the Board of Higher Ed, proposes extending Oregon financial aid (Opportunity Grants) to students taking online courses at the Western Governors University (here). In an Oregonian op-ed “Opening paths to online learning in Oregon,” he writes (here):
…. But there are forces at work in education that are changing old budget formulas. Internet-based educational technologies have matured to the point where they can provide students with cheaper and more accessible paths to a college degree.
These developments were evident last month at a meeting of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, which showcased non-traditional educational enterprises, such as the nonprofit Western Governors University (WGU), which offers four-year degrees, and new for-profits that cater to 
first-year students. They offer their courses online, they are cheaper than many public institutions, and their students do most of their classwork after 9 p.m. Further, these institutions are using the data they compile on teaching techniques and learning outcomes to continually improve their offerings.
WGU was founded by the governors of 19 states (including Oregon) in 1997. With 25,000 
students, it is already larger than the University of Oregon. It is fully accredited, its students can qualify for federal Pell grants, and it offers new terms of study every month. WGU students learn at their own pace, and many achieve four-year degrees in 30 months.
If Oregon is serious about getting 80 percent of its next generation to two-year and four-year degrees, online schools like WGU will have to play a part in that effort. It doesn't have to be expensive to include them. Ten states have extended their financial aid programs to residents enrolled at WGU. Oregon should 
do the same with its Opportunity Grant program and track the results based on dollars spent and degrees earned…..
I agree, but we should go beyond that. We should give financial aid as well to Oregon students who are living in-state and attending other universities online. I’ve blogged on it numerous times. Here and here for examples, where I wrote:
I tend to think Oregon can no longer afford to support the traditional residential model of 
higher education. It has become too expensive. Online courses, and entire universities, are changing everything. Why should Oregon pay for the traditional residential universities when online degrees are nearly free. There needs to be a total rethink of higher ed with everything on the table including privatization, higher ed vouchers for students, reorganizing the research component, sending many more students to study abroad, and creating a four year (or more) online university.
Comments