AOL adds to virtual campus: higher ed/adult learning portal expands. (Update).For at least the past year, AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. has been offering its members a link to online adult and higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. . But in late 2001, the Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. created an "official" portal--dubbed AOL Online Campus--inside its Research & Learn Channel. The portal was designed to promote virtual education leader University of Phoenix, Western Governors University (another virtual education institution with a home office in Salt Lake City), University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). Berkeley Extension, and various for-profit learning companies. Those for-profits include Barnes & Noble University, the Private lessons Channel and Embark, Barnes & Noble and the Private lessons Channel offer courses that cover per sonal interests in literature, cooking, fitness, and other subjects. Embark is its own portal, to higher education programs, preparatory pro grams, and financial aid. AOL is aggressively searching for additional higher education and adult education partners, says Elizabeth Ward, director of AOL's R&L Channel. Online learning is a growing market for the internet service provider, she adds. A membership survey, conducted in late 2000, revealed that 63 percent of AOL subscribers are interested in taking an online course, says Ward. Considering that AOL's membership is edging toward 30 million, the ISP's pool of potential online learners could be as high as 18.9 million. AOL has divided current offerings into three categories: academic programs that grant an associate's, bachelor's or master's degree master's degree n. An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree. Noun 1. ; career advancement information and training; and courses that cover personal interests. While Ward (and the participating universities) will not disclose the specifics of the partnerships, she does note that each institution receives a link on the AOL R&L page. Subscribers are then taken to the partner's Web page, which displays an AOL banner. In the case of Western Governors University, the school's banner ad A graphic image used on Web sites to advertise a product or service. Banner ads come in numerous sizes, but are often rectangles 460 pixels wide by 60 pixels high. Also 460 x 55 and 392 x 72 sizes are commonly used. also runs on the AOL home page. AOL is a corporate sponsor of WGU WGU Western Governors University WGU World's Greatest University (Boston slang for Harvard University) WGU Weapon Guidance , and has been promoting the school on R&L and the AOL home page for nine months, says Robert Mendenhall, president of the school. So far, 40,000 site visitors have clicked on the WGU links or banner ads. "Right now, it's difficult to say who has become a student," admits Mendenhall. But he adds that monitoring the click-through/enrollment ratio is his next initiative in the AOL partnership. |
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