Friday, May 11, 2001
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Leery About Use of Their Names, 2 Universities Withdraw From Online InstitutionBy GEOFFREY MASLEN
Melbourne, Australia
Two universities have decided to withdraw from the planned Universitas 21 global online university, citing concerns about how it would use their names and logos. The University of Toronto has decided to resign from the Universitas 21 consortium, and the University of Michigan has decided not to participate in the university, although it will remain a member of the consortium. "We had concerns that our faculty would not be sufficiently involved in the development or quality control of the venture's academic programs," said Gary D. Krenz, special counsel to the president at Michigan. "We're also engaged in other approaches to e-learning, and we determined that our educational interests would likely be better served through those other activities." Alan Gilbert, the chairman of Universitas 21 and vice-chancellor and president of the University of Melbourne, could not be reached for comment. Toronto was a founding member of Universitas 21 in 1997, when the consortium's stated aim was to enhance collaboration in research and through staff and student exchanges. Another goal was to develop international benchmarks though a shared set of performance indicators. The consortium now has a membership of 18 research-intensive universities spread across 10 countries, although the plan to set up an online institution to market graduate courses has alarmed some members. With the establishment of the online university imminent, Toronto said it did not want to be part of the plans. Universitas 21 has signed an agreement in principle with Thomson Learning to operate the project. Some Toronto officials were concerned because the online institution would be able to use the logos and crests of its member universities in issuing its own certificates and degrees. As well, officials at Toronto are believed to have been worried by the financial implications of the e-learning venture, whose establishment costs have been put as high as $50-million. Toronto's president, Robert Birgeneau, announced the decision to withdraw from the consortium in an e-mail message to senior faculty members last month. In the message, he said he had consulted with the university's lawyers on the possibility of remaining a member of Universitas 21 without participating in the e-learning venture. Mr. Birgeneau wrote that Toronto had no intention of breaking the connections already established with the other 17 universities in the consortium. "We will be simultaneously working to strengthen our bilateral linkages with all U21 member universities and believe that we can do so without jeopardizing the substantial and now effective academic, research and administrative collaborations that have emerged through U21," he said. Meanwhile, the University of Virginia is among a number of American institutions believed to be planning to join Universitas 21. Peter W. Low, Virginia's vice president and provost, said there were two basic reasons for its decision to join. "We are currently expanding our international programs, and Universitas 21 is a good opportunity to join an established consortium of high-quality institutions," he said. "Secondly, we are also looking to expand our involvement in distance learning, and the consortium provides a good opportunity there."
Background articles from The Chronicle:
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 UConn students occupy building in protest over janitors' pay Lawsuit seeks to force federal government to finance stem-cell studies Ex-chancellor, now a professor, is fired in harassment case 17 University of Toronto law students are suspended for faking test scores 4 institutions announce major library acquisitions Spring commencement speakers are announced by 20 colleges A university that reveres tradition experiments with e-books Leery about use of their names, 2 universities withdraw from online institution |
Copyright © 2001 by The Chronicle of Higher Education