State May Launch Own Online College

Two weeks after 10 western governors announced plans to launch a regional online college, California officials are investigating the possibility of going it alone, creating their own “virtual university” that could deliver instruction to students from Fresno to Tokyo.

Although Gov. Pete Wilson has not ruled out participation in the regional college, he and the state’s top educators have agreed to explore a California-only institution that would take advantage of the state’s vast educational and technological resources.

The thinking, according to one source: “Why would California [schools] carry so much weight for the other western states when they can do the same job on their own?”

On Tuesday, a design team made up of representatives from Stanford University, USC and the state’s three public systems--the University of California, California State University and the community colleges--met for the first time with officials from the telecommunications industry in the governor’s office in Sacramento.

“Our first task is to focus on what product we will be offering--the range of courses and degrees--and what time frame we are working under,” said Joe Rodota, Wilson’s deputy chief of staff, who organized the meeting.

Wilson has until mid-August to let the other western governors know whether California will join them. Some factors that will influence his decision, Rodota said, include an estimate--not yet completed--of how much an independent venture by the state would cost. Already, Wilson appears to be leaning toward going it alone.

“We have advantages that no state or group of states can match,” Rodota said. “We view this as a significant revenue opportunity for both public and private campuses and as a long-term way of attracting additional faculty to California.”

Wilson unveiled his enthusiasm for such a project in April, when he told the California Business and Higher Education Forum in Palm Springs that “distance learning” could bring educational opportunity to students in remote areas, and turn a tidy profit for educational institutions.

“We are, in this state, the epicenter of information technology,” he said. “Most people are thinking about distance learning primarily as a means of saving money. Friends, . . . think about it as a way to make money.”

Higher education leaders have been enthusiastic as well. Last month, on the same day that the western governors made their announcement, officials from Wilson’s office queried, via conference call, several California educators: Would they consider a California-based collaborative online college?

“We spent about an hour going over the agenda,” said Barry Munitz, chancellor of the 22-campus California State University, who convened the call at Wilson’s request. “Does the idea make sense? Are we interested enough to have a design team meet? Everybody said yes.”

Munitz praised Wilson for seeking the input of higher education leaders and endorsed the California venture as “something that should happen.”

There are many details to work out. Some schools, including Stanford, already market some of their courses online, and it remains to be seen how a new umbrella university would incorporate that kind of program. There are questions about who would be on the virtual university’s faculty and about whether a student could piece together a degree from courses offered by multiple institutions.

The online university also has potentially broad ramifications for some institutions. Higher education experts note that an online university that offers UC courses might call into question the necessity of building a planned 10th UC campus in Merced.

“There are all kinds of possibilities for distance learning that could help UC accommodate Tidal Wave II,” said Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, a UC regent, referring to the flood of college-age students that is expected during the next decade. But so far, he said, “UC isn’t thinking that way. They’re thinking bricks and mortar.”