Thursday, November 8, 2001

U. of Washington Creates Online High-School Courses By MICHAEL ARNONE Seattle Next year, high-school students looking for more challenge or variety in their studies will be able to take online courses that the University of Washington is developing from its undergraduate curriculum. The courses are the result of an unusual agreement. University of Washington Educational Outreach, the division that delivers distance education for the university's other schools and departments, has formed a partnership with Apex Learning, a company that develops online courses for public-school students, to offer 11 courses in the fall of 2002. "What we're trying to do is create a more seamless transition for high-school students entering into college," says David P. Szatmary, the university's vice provost for educational outreach. The university wants to jump into an expanding market for online secondary-school courses, says Mr. Szatmary. "The virtual-school market is definitely expanding," says James P. McVety, an analyst for Eduventures, a consulting group specializing in education businesses. Teacher shortages and overcrowded facilities are driving secondary schools to handle their burgeoning student populations any way they can, including through online programs. He says he's not surprised that universities and private companies are joining forces to provide online courses in this market. The University of Washington is among the first higher-education institutions, though, to share its academic content with high schools by creating high-school courses. The target market is motivated high-school students looking for interesting electives that their schools may not offer, says Joan L. McCarter, manager for distance-learning design at University of Washington Educational Outreach. She and her staff are modifying a number of courses -- including standards, such as introductory chemistry and American literature, and more eclectic subjects, such as atmospheric science and sociology. Staff members are also creating an Advanced Placement course in psychology. High schools especially seek science and math courses, she says, pointing out that a precalculus course is "apparently one that high schools really, really want" so students can prepare themselves for college-level math courses. Ms. McCarter says the high-school versions of the courses will consist of separate lessons the students can take online. She and her staff members are also developing quizzes students can use to test themselves. In the process, she and her colleagues will sift out any material they consider inappropriate for secondary-school students. A professor might safely use a keg party at a fraternity as the setting for a math problem for a 20-year-old college student, she says. That same problem wouldn't be appropriate for a 15-year-old high-school student. Because the copyrighted content will also continue to appear in the university's undergraduate courses, the university will assure that the quality of the content in the high-school courses stays high, says Mary J. Fabien, a software-technology manager with the university's office of intellectual property. Students will pay $475 per course, the standard Apex Learning rate, says Keith L. Oelrich, president and chief executive officer at the company. Mr. Szatmary says he doesn't have exact figures on how much money the university will receive, but Apex Learning is paying the university to customize the material. The university will charge Apex Learning yearly licensing fees for each course, as well as for each student taking a course. University professors whose courses are modified will also receive royalty payments for each student in their courses. In any event, because University of Washington Educational Outreach is nonprofit, all the money earned through the courses will go toward the development of new online courses, Mr. Szatmary says. Ms. McCarter and Mr. Szatmary say they hope that another benefit of repackaging the courses will be that it will help the university improve delivery of online undergraduate courses. "It might make us think about being more explicit in terms of what we're trying to achieve in those courses," Ms. McCarter says. Apex Learning and the university have been planning the rollout for the past 16 months, Mr. Oelrich says. "The online-school opportunity in the high-school market is a way to provide choices and courses that the schools otherwise couldn't provide," he says. Created in 1997 by Paul Allen, a Microsoft co-founder, Apex Learning offers 10 Advanced Placement courses and six foreign-language courses through its Virtual School program. Apex Learning has contracts with school districts in 34 states. Through University of Washington Educational Outreach, the University of Washington offers 24 certificate programs and 11 degree programs online to 10,000 students. Background articles from The Chronicle: South Dakota Finds Mixed Results With Online AP Courses (5/25/2001) Test of Online Advanced Placement Courses Gets Mixed Reviews (6/16/2000) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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