Education Alert: California Bill Seeks College Credit For Online Study

Classes offered by private vendors could count toward graduation

Finally! A possible solution to a growing problem at public colleges and universities: Legislation will be introduced in California Senate on Wednesday that could force the state’s higher learning institutions to give credit for faculty-approved online courses taken by students unable to register for full classes on campus. If it passes, it will be the first time state legislators have asked public universities accept courses taught by a private vendor, not by a college or university. “We want to be the first state in the nation to make this promise: No college student in California will be denied the right to move through their education because they couldn’t get a seat in the course they needed,” said Senate president pro tem Darrell Steinberg, who will introduce the bill. At the state’s 112 community colleges, each averages 7,000 enrolled student who were on waiting lists for classes. And at the 420,000-student, 23 campus California State University, only 16 percent of students graduate within four years, because of the difficulty in getting the courses they need. (New York Times)

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