The University will withdraw next month from the Alliance for Life-Long Learning — of which it is a founding member — to pursue an independent long-distance education venture. The new program will allow virtually anyone with Internet access to take Princeton courses online.
The University will continue to participate in the experimental first phase of the alliance's project by offering two courses online. However, it will not take part in the program's second phase, which will likely begin in the spring and involve the expansion of the number of courses in addition to increased enrollment and access to students.
"Princeton decided to leave the alliance to pursue a somewhat different direction than that of the alliance," University Vice President for Information Technology Betty Leydon said in an e-mail.
Leydon, who will direct the new program and has been involved in the initial planning, explained that leaving the alliance will allow the University to devote its full resources to its independent pursuit.
"Since we have limited resources to devote to these efforts, it would have been difficult to pursue these goals and, at the same time, continue our participation in the alliance," Leydon said.
The alliance, which the University founded jointly two years ago with Oxford, Stanford and Yale Universities, plans to offer online courses in the arts and sciences for a fee to their combined 500,000 alumni. The online education program will provide not only videos of lectures, but interactive seminars, multi-media programs, related websites with links to research information, live and taped coverage of campus speakers and other events, in addition to other learning tools.
While the University plans to use many of these same online tools, it also aims to place an increased emphasis on streaming video and coverage of campus visitors and speakers, Leydon said.
In contrast to the alliance, the University is aiming to make its program free and accessible not only to alumni, but to anyone with Internet access. Provost Amy Gutmann explained that these fundamental differences factored into the University's decision to pull out of the alliance.
"We decided to exit the alliance because we are committed to developing educational courseware on a non-proprietary basis," Gutmann said in an e-mail. "We plan to make our online educational offerings as broadly accessible as possible to students, alumni and the higher educational community."
Leydon added that, because the project will be completely independent, the University will also have greater freedom in deciding which courses to offer online.
"This will give us far more flexibility to choose courses and other offerings that we think are important," Leydon said.
Gutmann added that the University made its decision only after broad consultation with trustees and administrators.
The University's long-distance learning program is still in its early stages. Though Leydon said that no committee has formed yet to discuss the program, she explained that she, her staff and Gutmann have been conducting the initial planning.
"I don't know exactly how big this is going to get," Leydon said. "We haven't planned out exactly what we are going to do, but we have a lot of ideas and a good sense of where we want to go. We needed to get out of the alliance first, but now we have a lot of thinking to do before we proceed."
Read More
David Zielenziger ’74, former ‘Prince’ chairman and lifelong journalist, passes away at 72
Kian PetlinFriends and colleagues remember former ‘Prince’ chairman David Zielenziger ’74, who passed away peacefully on May 20.
Friends and colleagues remember former ‘Prince’ chairman David Zielenziger ’74 who passed away peacefully on May 20.
Remembering Dorothea von Moltke, Labyrinth co-founder and local community builder
Lucia BrownDorothea von Moltke, widely considered the heart of Labyrinth Books, was remembered by friends and loved ones for her passions for language, literature, and local activism.
Dorothea von Moltke, widely considered the heart of Labyrinth Books, was remembered by friends and loved ones for her passions for language, literature, and local activism.
Cloister Inn to pause operations for the next 2–3 years, citing “hefty renovations”
Justus WilhoitCloister Inn, one of Princeton’s eating clubs, will pause operations for the next two to three years, due to “hefty renovations” to the club’s house.
Cloister Inn, one of Princeton’s eating clubs, will pause operations for the next two to three years, due to “hefty renovations” to the club’s house.