The Florida
university system sees online classes as a means to reduce the cost of an
education as well as a faster route to obtaining a bachelor’s degree. To that
end, the system is ramping up its efforts to enroll 40% of its undergraduates
in online courses by 2025.
One of the
ways the system will do that, according to a report in the Sun Sentinel, is by cutting distance-learning fees for online
classes. Currently six schools in the system charge students more to take a
course online rather than in a physical classroom.
A report by
the system’s Board of Governors Innovation and Online Committee noted 37 other
states charge similar fees to cover the cost of redeveloping a course for an
online format, but the report also estimated substantial savings in classroom
maintenance and construction if more students can take courses from home.
The report
also found that the availability of online classes helped students to graduate more
quickly. Students who took no online classes needed 4.3 years on average to
earn their degrees, while students who enrolled in online courses for at least
20% of their credit hours managed to finish in four years flat. The online
classes may have provided a solution when students were unable to attend
required courses in person.
The Florida
universities also plan to make some online courses available to students
systemwide.
