UMassOnline a Model for Colorado State University?

Posted on August 28, 2007 by Jennifer Brady

In the middle of this news story about a plan to launch an online university in 2008 to be called CSU-Colorado, the writers mention an online university system about 2,500 miles away. Presumably trying to make the point that online education options at the college level not only serve the unique needs of adult learners and geographically dispersed populations, but can be a wise use of funds as well, the story includes this tip of the hat to UMassOnline:

Public universities that have launched similar online learning programs, such as the University of Massachusetts, have demonstrated they can generate significant cash flows, and that their online education programs can be a significant source of funds for their systems.

That's true, of course. And, we welcome Colorado State University to the growing number of educational institutions across the board that are discovering the online opportunity. We wish them good fortune. But a good balance sheet doesn't guarantee a good school. It works the other way around. In the long run, a great school, online or otherwise, will sustain its economic health. The UMassOnline model others should focus on is not our balance sheet, but our balanced educational programs, our enriched curriculum, and our faculty investments that enable us to bring to our online courses the same world class professors who teach on our traditional campuses.