State University System of Florida Looks to Double Online Enrollment

A system of 12 public universities in Florida has set a goal that will double student enrollment in online classes within a decade. The State University System of Florida (SUSF) wants 40 percent of undergraduate credit hours completed online by 2025.

According to a News4Jax report, at the most recent Florida Board of Governors meeting, the Innovation and Online Committee said that cost is the main factor driving the transition to online courses. The committee wants to make online classes more affordable for students, citing the fact that last year students actually paid more on online classes at certain universities compared to on-campus classes, due to distance learning fees that would range from $15–$55 per hour.

"Most SUS institutions assess a distance-learning fee to cover the incremental costs of developing and delivering distance education courses," according to the board’s report titled “The Cost of Online Education.” At the beginning of this year, the legislature capped the distance learning fees at $30 per hour. Still, students can end up paying more for online courses versus on-site.

The Florida Board of Governors and university leaders are working on ways to drive down the cost further, to provide an incentive for students to shift to online classes.

To learn more about the system’s plan, including SUSF’s cost-saving and cost-avoidance strategies for online education, view the report.

About the Author

Sri Ravipati is Web producer for THE Journal and Campus Technology. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Launches Claude for Education

    Anthropic has announced a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

  • laptop displaying a red padlock icon sits on a wooden desk with a digital network interface background

    Reports Highlight Domain Controllers as Prime Ransomware Targets

    A recent report from Microsoft reinforces warnings about the critical role Active Directory (AD) domain controllers play in large-scale ransomware attacks, aligning with U.S. government advisories on the persistent threat of AD compromise.

  • human figures surrounded by precise arcs with book and gear icons

    Kennedy-King College Rolls Out Holistic Student Support Program

    Chicago's Kennedy-King College is expanding student support services through a collaboration between City Colleges of Chicago and One Million Degrees (OMD), a Chicago-based nonprofit serving low-income community college students.

  • computer monitor with a bold AI search bar on the screen

    Google Reimagines Search with AI Mode

    About a year after launching AI Overviews in its flagship search offering, Google has announced broad availability of AI Mode in Search.