With extensive budget cuts looming, members of the UNC-system Board of Governors want universities to move toward a less traditional form of education.
Administrators say they want to expand the already growing online and distance learning programs offered by campuses to alleviate the inevitable cuts next year while staying competitive among peer institutions.
UNC-system schools offer 135 full-degree programs online and about 74,000 students are taking advantage of these online degrees, but Hannah Gage, chairwoman of the board, said she hopes to encourage even more students to participate in this opportunity.
“I don’t think there is anything in the world we can do to force a campus to move in this direction, but I think the president and I have both communicated to every campus that their campuses are going to demand this down the road,” Gage said. “Their students are going to want flexibility.”
At a board meeting earlier this month, members discussed the current online education system, and how it could be improved to better provide for faculty and students.
Gage said at the meeting that online degrees often don’t get the respect that they deserve.
“It’s hard to convey that this is high quality,” Gage said.
UNC-system President Erskine Bowles said at the meeting that many campuses, including UNC-CH, have been reluctant in expanding their online education, but most schools are now becoming more open to it.
Bowles also said the system’s online programs are already ahead of online programs offered by its peers.