Administrators at Penn State University have devised a plan to share proceeds from distance learning courses with the departments that design them.



Under the new program, Penn State will pay a department that creates a course for its online university, called World Campus, 80 percent of net profits. The World Campus keeps the remaining 20 percent.



It's a new model for a relatively new form of education. Traditionally, universities apportion more funds to academic departments with higher enrollment levels and greater faculty productivity. "Because our distance education program wasn't part of that formula, we had to find a way to return a benefit to the college or

department in our programs," says Gary E. Miller, executive director of The World Campus.



The revenue-sharing model should encourage the growth of online education and training, says Rob Helmick, CEO of Real Education, a Denver-based concern that creates turnkey, online learning

programs for universities. Normally, a department's dean shies away from distance learning because the university administration, not the department, takes home the profits. "Now, the dean is going to look at corporate training and see an opportunity to fund his department and its programs, says Helmick.



The quality of online training and education may also improve, says Helmick. Professors expecting payback — even if it doesn't go straight into their pockets — are likely to build better distance courses.



And Penn State's action may mean a seed change for the world of university online learning. Professors have often resisted moving their classroom courses to computer networks. "Any program that returns money to the originators of

courses is a positive development," says Mary Burgan, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors in Washington, D.C.



Full text COPYRIGHT Lakewood Publications Inc. 1999