The first Internet-only school

Published: 11 March 1999 y., Thursday
Jones International University, which sells online courses for profit, has become the first Internet-only school accredited to grant college degrees. It operates out of a small suite of offices with nine full-time employees in Englewood, Colo, and is unrelated to Internet courses offered by Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and the Interactive Journal. Jones International received its bona fides last week from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the main accreditor for higher education in its region. Like the hugely successful University of Phoenix, a unit of Apollo Group Inc. also accredited by North Central, Jones International_s business model features courses taught by part-time professors free-lancing from other schools to earn a little extra money. It hires professors from Columbia University, Stanford University and the University of Texas to design the courses. But instruction is delivered by adjunct faculty who lead e-mail discussions and grade papers and exams. This provides substantial savings from the costs associated with full-time university professors. Jones International offers bachelor_s and master_s degrees in business communications. Among other Internet education ventures, OnlineLearning.net has the exclusive rights to market noncredit versions of courses given at University of California at Los Angeles. Mr. Jones is the founder of Jones Intercable Inc., a large cable-TV company, and Mind Extension University, a cable network that provides degrees from existing colleges. Mr. Jones, who has agreed to sell his controlling stake in Jones Intercable to Comcast Inc. for $200 million, sees a huge market for "real-estate averse" schools such as his. Jones International started offering Internet courses in business communications four years ago. Since then, 950 people from 34 countries have enrolled in eight-week courses at an average cost of $700 for a three-credit graduate course. Jones International can_t match the state-subsidized prices of public schools. But it is far cheaper than private universities.
Šaltinis: Internet
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

Robo-footie in China

Robot football was a highlight of a three-day tournament in Guangdong province known as "RoboCup". more »

Butterflies find a sanctuary

Every year millions of monarch butterflies migrate to central Mexico, where they find sanctuary. more »

Space beer lands in Japan

Space Beer, the result of a five-month mission to boldly grow, where almost no one has grown barley before, has landed in Japan. more »

Opening doors for the disabled

In the southern Spanish city of Linares some of the shops are missing doors, but it’s not because of the warm weather. more »

Doctor designs artificial heart

A french cardiac surgeon has found a new way of dealing with the shortage of heart donors -- he is creating an artificial heart. more »

Soldier robots showcased in Israel

At the first ever Israeli robotics conference in Herzeliya, Israel, the inventors aims are to get their innovations recognized. more »

Astronauts do lube job

A pair of Endeavour's astronauts on the first of four spacewalks for a lube job. more »

AIDS cure hope after German surgery

The German doctors have been treating a leukemia patient who also had AIDS. more »

4,000 dollars for weightless ride

A group of specially invited guests find out what it feels like to be weightless. more »

Honda's robot legs

Honda's experimental robotic legs are set to revolutionise life on the factory floor. more »