U Of California Regents Pledge To Expand Online Education In Next Few Years

University of California leaders pledged Wednesday to sharply expand online education over the next few years, possibly aiming to have UC students take about 10% of all their classes online — averaging four courses toward their degree. UC administrators also floated the idea of establishing a fully online academy that might allow students to earn the equivalent of a community college degree before transferring to a University of California campus. Developing more than 150 new online courses for freshmen and sophomores by 2016, among other moves, "would be a magnificent opportunity to educate more students and be more efficient," UC President Mark G. Yudof said. And in a nod to faculty concerns about being replaced by digital courses, Yudof promised that the new classes would be of high academic quality and would not cause layoffs.