I learned yesterday that the University of Massachusetts Online signed a groundbreaking agreement to provide online learning in China. This could position University of Massachusetts Online to be the first foreign university to provide online learning in China.
Although this what I would consider a “milestone achievement,” I know from the international work that I have been involved in that UMass still has a number of signficant obstacles in front of them. The international educational market, as a whole, is still not that accepting of foreign schools or educational entities who make investments in brick mortar much less online learning. Most markets are problematic for online learning for a variety of reasons including internet infrastructure within the country, the operating environment within a country for foreign schools, computer access for students, state or country governance, and the adherence to traditional views of educational delivery.
Nevertheless, as an educational optimist, I do see signs that online higher education will play a growing role in the expansion and development of higher education in a number of countries worldwide.
If you are interested, here is the link to the UMass Online press release –
http://www.umassonline.net/news/1475.html