Faculty opposition has forced the University of Toledo to scrap talks with a private company to develop graduate online programs, The Blade, a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, reported yesterday.
Higher Ed Holdings, a Texas-based company, approached the university to discuss developing two master’s degree programs for its College of Education. But faculty resistance prompted the company to pull out of the discussions earlier this week, leading Rosemary Haggett, the university’s provost, to send an e-mail message to the college expressing her disappointment.
“What could have been a truly compelling dialogue about opportunities to broaden the number of graduate education students benefiting from the expertise of College of Education faculty was never allowed to get under way by those who would seek to demonize those that disagree with them rather than debate what is best for the institution in a thoughtful and professional way,” Ms. Haggett wrote in the e-mail message.
Faculty members are generally supportive of distance education, said Lawrence Baines, a professor in the College of Education, which already offers online courses and programs. But the degree programs that the university had been discussing with Higher Ed Holdings seemed poorly designed, he told The Chronicle.
“Our niche is a high-quality, at-your-shoulder approach to learning,” Mr. Baines said. “We didn’t see that [in the proposed online programs]. We saw more of a mass-production, factory model.”
Although the University of Toledo already offers many online programs, a deal with Higher Ed Holdings would have been the university’s first partnership with a private company to offer such programs.
Ms. Haggett said that the breakdown of the talks were due in part to faculty resistance but that the college and faculty will continue to explore ways to reach students interested in distance-learning opportunities.
“I would’ve liked to have some more additional conversations before it was decided by HEH that we’re not there yet,” Ms. Haggett said. “But this is a really good opportunity for us to think about delivering our programs in new and different ways.” —David Shieh
