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FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — University of Arkansas System trustees on Thursday approved formation of an online university that will draw on campuses within the system and compete with for-profit schools that are popular with older, working students.
System President Donald Bobbitt and his staff developed the program, which will be known as the University of Arkansas System eVersity.
Meeting at in Fort Smith, the trustees cleared Bobbitt to begin setting up academic governance of the program, tapping schools within the system to do so.
The eVersity is to target older students who can't accommodate the structure of a traditional university education. Organizers also hope to attract students who had some college experience but left before attaining a degree.
"For many students, the optimum experience is to learn intensively under the mentorship of the exceptional faculty we have at each institution. However, for those students for which that is not possible, the eVersity will provide a much needed option," Bobbitt said.
Michael Moore, the system's vice president for academic affairs, said during a presentation that the eVersity's core principles include offering high-quality courses, affordable tuition and degree programs that fit with skills sought by employers.
"The eVersity will be a collaborative effort drawing on the strength and expertise found in our existing UA institutions," Moore said. "Faculty members at our colleges and universities will specify degree requirements, will develop the course work in concert with expert instructional designers and will teach our courses. In this respect, we will draw an important distinction from many of the existing fully online universities that rely almost exclusively on adjunct faculty."
According to the state Higher Education Department, more than 80 out-of-state institutions, many of which are for-profit, offer degree programs available to Arkansas residents.
System officials cited a study that shows state employers will need more than 519,000 additional college graduates to meet workforce needs by 2025. In a state with a population of about 3 million, officials said there are more than 358,000 adults who completed some college but fell short of a degree.
In 2012, trustees passed a resolution directing the system president to expand online education offerings in the state, and Bobbitt's initiative is in response to that directive.
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