Education Advocates Claim Online Universities Benefit For-Profit Companies

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— A new report from a California education advocacy group calls into to question the value of online education and suggests that it benefits for-profit companies that create the courses.

The report from the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education calls online education big business and suggests that private companies are profiting more than students.

"We can't blame business people for taking care of their business, but we in higher education need to take care of ours. Students and their families spend a lot of money on higher education and it is their return on investments that we should be most concerned about," said Eileen Landy with the State University of New York.

Gary Rhodes with the University of Arizona supports the idea of colleges and universities increasing access through online courses.

"We lack, but very much need clear business plans for the growing number of online partnerships deals between private companies and non-profit colleges," he said.

On its website, Coursera.org an online education company that works with Stanford, The University of California, and other major universities, aims to offer a world-class education to many more people than just those who can attend university.

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