McPhee said the system has not decided what students will have to pay to enroll in the degree programs. Students can earn several types of degrees from the virtual university, and the University of Louisville plans to add several Web-based master s degrees in January, Susman said. Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, said Web-based courses force some professors to teach differently. Lectures, a midterm exam and a term paper won t cut it anymore. Instead, teachers must use more assignments, and shorter ones, to ensure students master the material.
Some students also have to adjust.
Thanks to the software most schools use for their Web courses, professors have no trouble keeping up with each student s participation in class discussions. But Judith Eaton, president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation in Washington, D.C., said she s heard many professors say they actually get to know their students better over the Web. E-mail doesn t require students to find professors during office hours. So it really comes down to how you put it together. McPhee said he also isn t worried that employers will give less weight to a Web-based degree than they give to a traditional one.