U. anticipates millions in online course revenues

Growing trends in continuing education are contributing to a huge growth in online education, which shows no signs of slowing down, said Vice President of Continuous Education and Outreach Raphael Caprio.
In his address to the University last Friday, University President Richard L. McCormick said the growing popularity of these programs help fill the needs of students as well as improving the University’s finances.
“Revenue from online and off-campus programs increased last year to $20.5 million, and we are only now emerging from infancy in these areas,” McCormick said. “We believe that within five years, revenues from such programs will grow more than threefold to $65 million.”
Caprio said McCormick’s goal of reaching $65 million of revenue in five years is a good one but may be overly prudent.
“Some of us even think it is a little on the prudent side, but it is definitely an achievable goal,” Caprio said. “We offer over 100 online courses now, and will probably offer at least 250 by the time we reach McCormick’s goal.”
Part-time Business School Lecturer Sandy Becker said he has also noticed the trend in growth of online classes, especially in the business and education fields.
“There is the trend in professionals taking online courses for accreditation reasons, to refresh their skills and gain degrees,” Becker said. “Obviously these online programs are more efficient for some people who cannot commute easily. There is a growing trend in working adults going back to school, and online courses are much more accessible for them.”
Patrick Danner, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, doesn’t think online courses are a good alternative to in-class learning.
“I would think the environment of the classroom is more conducive to retaining information, just the psyche involved with entering a classroom,” he said. “A professor seems like a better authority than a text box on a screen.”
Most University students will need to pursue continuing education throughout their lives in order to keep up with changing technologies, Caprio said.
“In today’s work environment, most of what we know is going to be replaced or obsolete within ten years,” Caprio said. “When you graduate from college, that’s probably the beginning of seven more years of college, on and off, just to keep up. Online classes make that continuous education much more convenient.”
Caprio said the University has 380,000 living alumnae, so if just 1 percent of them take an online course, the University will receive $10 million.
Becker said his only concern over the continued growth of online courses is that the quality of the online class experience may not measure up to actually being in a class.
“The only problem I have is that sometimes the value and accreditation of these programs is less than the in-class experience,” Becker said. “However, they really provide a tremendous opportunity for working adults looking to continue their education.”
In addition to online courses, working adults and other students seeking out online courses should also consider looking into the University’s off-campus programs, Caprio said.
“We also have programs at colleges like Brookdale, Atlantic Cape and Raritan Valley Community College, so that students who cannot commute but value a Rutgers degree can work toward that in other locations,” Caprio said.

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