Duke University has dropped out of a consortium of schools that will offer for-credit online courses. Duke faculty made the decision last week in a close vote.
In ending Duke’s participation in the Semester Online program, faculty on the Arts and Sciences Council said the decision to offer for-credit online courses had not been fully vetted by them. Some faculty members also expressed concern over the partner universities not being as highly-ranked as Duke.
The Semester Online program will allow students at the partner universities the chance to take selected online courses at other schools in the consortium. It is being managed by a company called 2U.
Other schools in the program include Notre Dame, Emory, Northwestern, and UNC-Chapel Hill. Carolina is the only public University in the consortium and has not changed its plans to participate. Wake Forest, like Duke, was an original member but will not offer Semester Online courses in the fall.