[A2k] Scott Jaschik: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses

[Manon Ress]

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/29/ccplan

  U.S. Push for Free Online Courses
June 29, 2009

WASHINGTON -- Community colleges and high schools would receive
federal funds to create free, online courses in a program that is in
the final stages of being drafted by the Obama administration.

The program is part of a series of efforts to help community colleges
reach more students and to link basic skills education to job
training. The proposals are outlined in administration discussion
drafts obtained by Inside Higher Ed. A formal announcement could come
in the next few weeks. In addition to the free online courses, the
plan would provide $9 billion over 10 years to help community colleges
develop and improve programs related to preparing students for good
jobs, and a $10 billion loan fund (at low or no interest) for
community college facilities.

John White, press secretary for the Education Department, said Sunday
that the department would discuss the plans "when the time is right."
He said that there is a lot of "high level discussion and excitement"
around these ideas related to community colleges.

The funds envisioned for open courses -- $50 million a year -- may be
small in comparison to the other ideas being discussed. But in
proposing that the federal government pay for (and own) courses that
would be free for all, as well as setting up a system to assess
learning in those courses, and creating a "National Skills College" to
coordinate these efforts, the plan could be significant far beyond its
dollars.

The draft language suggests that the administration is throwing its
weight behind the movement to put more courses online -- and offer
them free -- and is also pushing that movement in the direction of
community colleges.

"This is so spot on in terms of what's needed," said Curtis J. Bonk, a
professor of instructional systems technology at Indiana University at
Bloomington and author of The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is
Revolutionizing Education (forthcoming from Jossey-Bass). Bonk is a
fan of programs like OpenCourseWare at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology that put course materials online. But he said that the
impact of bringing free online courses to those who may need basic
skills and job training could have much more of an impact than the
free courses from elite universities.

If this program provided more skills training and education to even a
small percentage of those leaving high school without a diploma or
those who have no college education, he said, the impact on the
individuals and the economy could be huge. "I couldn't think of a more
important target than high schools and community colleges for open
courses," he said.

According to the draft materials from the administration, the program
would support the development of 20-25 "high quality" courses a year,
with a mix of high school and community college courses. Initial
preference would go to "career oriented" courses. The courses would be
owned by the government and would be free for anyone to take. Courses
would be selected competitively, through peer review, for support. And
the courses would be "modular" or "object based" such that they would
be "interoperable" and could be offered with a variety of technology
platforms.

Under the plan, the government would also support a "National Skills
College" at a community college that would, among other things, work
to develop examinations that could be given at the end of the courses
so that colleges, employers and students could judge how much learning
had taken place. Course developers would be asked to consult with
colleges on standards, so that the offerings could be created with the
goal of having credit transferred to many institutions. And the
National Skills College would work to promote programs that might mix
the free courses with tuition courses so students could earn degrees
at lower cost.

While the program is described as one that emphasizes community
colleges and high schools, it would be open to public agencies and to
private for-profit or nonprofit groups.

Advocates for open courses guess that the proposal reflects the ideas
of Martha J. Kanter, the under secretary of education. Kanter was
previously chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College
District. In that position, she helped to create the Community College
Consortium for Open Education Resources, which has pioneered the idea
of making textbooks and other course materials for community college
students available free and online.

Bonk said that administration's ideas about open courses are
consistent with the "convergence" he sees taking place in online
learning. There is a growing belief that for many kinds of courses,
there are best providers whose work can be made available online,
there are large numbers of students who could benefit from those
courses, and those who might benefit don't necessarily have a lot of
money. "It's time for this," he said.

As for concerns that the students who could benefit might not have
laptops or Internet access, Bonk said that was a real concern. But
now, he said, students lack those things and perceive college as too
expensive. By making courses available free, he said, communities can
then expand library access to computers, or start laptop programs --
and this will make more sense when the tuition issue is removed. "I
think the ability to tell people, 'Hey there are these courses now
available for free' is going to create incentives for lots of laptop
programs to appear," he said.

Support for Job Training and Facilities

The discussion draft for the job training program calls for spending
$500 million a year in the first five years of the program, during
which grants would be awarded competitively to community colleges, and
$1.3 billion after that, at which point 50 percent of funds would be
awarded by formula to states, 25 percent awarded to those states
showing high performance programs, and 25 percent to community
colleges, awarded competitively.

To be eligible, community colleges would need to agree to track and
report on student outcomes, and to set targets for graduation rates
and "employment-related outcomes," while also serving "high need
populations." Funds could then be used to create programs that "blend
basic skills and occupational training," to provide "comprehensive,
personalized services to help students plan their coursework and
careers and support services that will keep them in school," and to
create programs in partnerships with employers

The loan fund for community college facilities would receive $10
billion under the plan. The loans would be for 10 years for repairs
and renovations and 25 years for construction, and the plan calls for
the loans to be "zero or low interest." The funds would first be
distributed to states, which would have to pledge that these funds
would not cause states to cut funds for the colleges. States would
distribute funds based on "demonstrated need," with an emphasis on
expanding capacity in programs that "meet employer needs in the areas
of health care, green jobs, science, engineering and technology."

Community college leaders said that they had not seen the discussion
drafts and wanted to see the details, but that they were generally
encouraged by the ideas in play.

George R. Boggs, president of the American Association of Community
Colleges, said that the infusion of funds being contemplated "sounds
very positive to us," especially given the pressure community colleges
are under to meet rising enrollment demands at a time of shrinking
state support. He said that colleges are being forced to turn students
away, "which is the wrong thing to be doing in this economy," and that
the funds for job training programs could help community colleges
educate more people, and help them prepare for good jobs.

On the facilities loans, Boggs said that his association has estimated
a $100 billion need for new community college facilities, so any new
source of funds would be welcome. He added, however, that some
community colleges may not be able to participate, even if the loans
have little or no interest. Various state and local laws govern
community college borrowing, and it may be hard for some of them to
issue bonds or make financial commitments to participate in the
program, he said. While the program may be "quite helpful" for some
colleges, he said, others may not be able to join without "some kind
of revenue stream."

J. Noah Brown, president of the Association of Community College
Trustees, said that the proposals the administration is drafting
"reflect big priorities of ours." Brown said that the colleges
recognize that the administration "can't cure all of our
infrastructure ills" or sagging budgets. But he said that with
community colleges being forced to limit enrollments in ways "that
break my heart," these programs are a huge advance.

"Frankly anything is going to be helpful, and this would be a lot more
than we have right now," he said. Brown added that these programs
would enable community colleges to "help turn around the economy."

Boggs also noted the unusual prominence that the administration is
giving to community colleges as institutions that can help deal with
the country's economic mess. "I think the spotlight is really shining
on community colleges right now," he said.
=97 Scott Jaschik


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Manon Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International
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