The Arizona Board of Regents is calling on ASU to expand its online program to reach 30,000 students by 2020.
The expansions to ASU Online are part of the board’s 2020 Vision plan, which includes doubling the amount of bachelor’s degrees awarded in Arizona.
The program has already seen significant growth. As of Sept. 1, ASU’s online program’s enrollment reached 3,015 students, a 70 percent increase from last year. The online program hopes to not only meet ABOR’s goal but exceed it, assistant vice president of ASU Online Kari Barlow said.
NAU and UA both have goals of reaching 10,000 students by 2020 for their online programs.
The ASU program originated in 2007 and is constantly growing, said Russ Knocke, director of communications for ASU Online Technology.
The program’s growth, as well as ABOR’s new emphasis, can be viewed as a reflection of today’s society, he said.
Knocke said that 45 million Americans have some sort of college credit, yet no degree.
“It makes a lot of sense for the University to engage these individuals and let them know they can complete their degree,” Knocke said.
The program has continued to expand and accommodate the needs of students, Barlow said.
“We’ve developed a stronger program with several more degrees available,” she said.
The program offers 10 degrees for first-time freshmen and 16 degree programs for transfer students.
The reason there are more degree programs for transfer students goes back to the fact that many Americans already have some college credit and just need to finish their degree, Knocke said.
Business and journalism sophomore Lindsey Smith spent three semesters as an ASU student without setting a foot on campus. After high school, Smith moved from her small town in Arizona to find adventure in Los Angeles.
ASU’s online program was perfect for her because she didn’t have to live in the state, but could still attend ASU, she said.
She chose to do the online program at ASU because she wanted the convenience of doing her work whenever and wherever she wanted, she said.
Smith completed three semesters of general education classes with the ASU Online program living outside of Arizona, but moved back to Tempe to finish her degree.
The University did not offer the specific program she wanted online, so she has to take classes on campus. She added that she would have completed her degree online if the journalism program was available.
Knocke and Barlow both said the online program will be expanding in the near future. They must first evaluate and analyze the market and decide where the highest demand is.
“As we identify programs that students would like to take online, that we can deliver in scalable manner with the highest quality, we will work to provide them,” Barlow said.
Reach the reporter at cottens@asu.edu
