Purdue’s interim president says the university has the potential to be a leader in distance learning.
Tim Sands says Purdue has the educational and information technology expertise to implement successful online classes.
He says one goal is to attract students who otherwise wouldn’t have considered or been able to attend Purdue.
But Sands says the main objective is to improve the educational outcomes for the university’s tuition-paying students on campus.
He says Purdue has been involved in distance learning for a decade.
The newest effort is Purdue HUB-U, which offers modular online courses with video lectures and tools for students to interact with their peers and the professor.
Sands says the goal is to improve face-to-face classes and bring in revenue by attracting students from around the world.