The Arizona Board of Regents is one step closer to implementing seamless student services for the online Arizona Regents University.
ABOR will discuss the progress made on student services for the virtual university today at its meeting at UA.
Matt Ortega, ABOR spokesman, said under current circumstances students taking online courses have to go through student service processes like registering for classes or getting financial aid at each university offering a course. ABOR wants to make the process easier for students taking courses at more than one of Arizona's three universities.
"The end result of the ARU program would be that a student would choose a home university, such as ASU, but they would be able to take classes from any of the three universities," Ortega said.
On Nov. 5, the ARU Board Subcommittee approved $326,000 to update the Arizona Distance Learning Web site, the precursor to the ARU, modify the existing Arizona Course Equivalency Tracking System and hire a campus coordinator to support seamless student services at the three universities.
Proposed in fall 2000 by ABOR and the university presidents, the ARU currently resides at http://www.azdistancelearning.org. ABOR hopes to implement the student services and make the site more like a virtual university, so students can register for multiple courses at more than one university at the same time.
ASU Vice Provost William Trotter said ASU, NAU and UA all offer online courses for students, but the ARU will coordinate the curricula and online student services so students can mix and match classes from all three universities that best suit their needs.
"ARU is a shell that goes over the key learning programs of the three universities," Trotter said. "The program is already in effect but few students know about it."
The virtual university has no faculty, buildings or budget separate from the three universities. It is an electronic link that connects existing Web-based programs, allowing students to use them while being registered and paying tuition at only one university.
Trotter said, unlike other universities that have made multi-million dollar investments in new faculty, separate buildings and infrastructure, ABOR has kept costs to a bare minimum. Only $2 million per year of funds generated by the sales tax for education is divided among the three universities to finance the ARU.
Trotter listed the closure of New York University's $40 million online program as an example of what can happen when costs get out of hand.
"Arizona's approach, to the fullest extent possible, is to use resources that are already in place," Trotter said. "Some states have taken a much more ambitious approach and have sunk millions into their electronic programs. None of that will be an issue in Arizona."
Ortega explained that if you don't live in Flagstaff, Tucson or Phoenix, it's more convenient to take the course at home rather than commute to a campus.
"One of the problems students have today is the availability of classes and time schedules," Ortega said. "Sometimes it can prevent a student from graduating."
Students interested in taking advantage of the program should visit http://www.abor.asu.edu or http://www.azdistancelearning.org.
Reach Victor Allen at victordallen@cs.com.
