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Florida Representative Says State Should Launch Fully Online College
By Catherine Groux
Posted January 23, 2012 02:35 PM
A Florida lawmaker believes the state should launch a new online school.Online learning is quickly asserting its place in higher education. A 2011 survey by the Sloan Consortium shows that in 2002, only about 1.6 million students were enrolled in web-based classes. However, by 2010, this figure rose by 283%, reaching 6.1 million.
As online education becomes increasingly popular, many academic and political leaders are encouraging schools to give students more web-based options. Recently, Florida Representative Will Weatherford said that the state should make its next public university fully online, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson agreed that the addition of an online state school would provide additional opportunities to Florida residents, especially non-traditional learners.
"This is a great opportunity for us to bring back into the workforce people who need certain skills or credentials," Robinson told BusinessWeek.
Weatherford recently requested a cost-benefit analysis of creating an online school from the Florida Board of Governors. He said he hopes this document will be completed before lawmakers meet for the 2013 legislative session.
This is not Florida's first step towards online education. Currently, all high school students in the state must take at least one web-based class, while about half of all Florida college students take online courses, BusinessWeek reports.
