University of California's Online High School Shuts Down
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Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 08/08/2007
After just one year in operation, UC Online Academy, a virtual high school operated by the University of California, has shut down.
The online academy had envisioned enrolling up to 125 full-time ninth-graders but ended up with only eight students, says Curt Anderson, director of strategic partnerships for UC College Prep Online.
As a result, the university ended up heavily subsidizing its students. The cost, for instance, was anywhere from $600 to $900 for each student to take virtual classes, but each student only paid $250 a year to enroll in the school.
UC officials say they will now focus on developing high school curricula, such as Advanced Placement courses and others that are required for entrance to college.
“We see our role as not to instruct high school education, but to provide the best curricula content that we can,” Anderson says.
UC Online Academy isn’t the only virtual high school run by a university. The University of California at San Diego runs the Preuss School. Students enrolled at UC Online Academy were informed in April that they would need to enroll elsewhere in the fall.
