Minnesota Governor Pushes For More Online Courses

In Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s recent state-of-the-state address, he addressed an issue that might be on more officials’ minds than we think — the state of online education. Seeing an opportunity to at once save state money and provide a wealth of new opportunities to career-burdened individuals, the governor called for more available online college courses as part of a heavy-duty revamping of the state college system.

…Gov. Tim Pawlenty, in his state-of-the-state address, challenged Minnesota’s colleges and universities to pull beyond “geography and bricks and mortar,” and move at least one in every four classes online by 2015.

The move is not without its naysayers: opponents like Susan Heegaard, director of the state’s Office of Higher Education, point out that effort involved in a shift from traditional to online courses could have heavy up-front financial costs, and experts warn that online universities should not entirely phase out the brick-and-mortar variety (everyone learns differently, and some may not be as skilled self-learners as others), but the fact remains that this could be a major financial and social boon to a lot of people who would otherwise be out of luck on getting an education.

What do you think, readers? Is this push toward online education a necessary advancement or a financial blunder? Leave a comment and weigh in on the debate!

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