University-Industry Relations in the Market for Online Courses and Degrees

The market for online courses and degrees has continued to grow in recent years in spite of an overall slowdown in the growth of Internet-related industries. Who will control the new market for online courses and degrees - universities or corporations, or will a division of labor emerge between the two? What are the advantages of universities and corporations in this new market, and what are their liabilities? Will widely-endorsed models of "blended" online learning, which require some face-to-face interaction, become the norm, or will most courses substitute chat rooms and bulletin boards for face-to-face interaction? This study investigates these questions.