Since I commented on the budget issues of the University of Akron earlier this week, I feel it something of a duty to report on a Chronicle of Higher Education article about the school’s initiative to increase online education. (The article is subscription-only.)

Higher education is desperately in need of cost control and innovation. In my previous post I noted that Scott Scarborough, the president who has been in charge for one year, has a plan for eliminating a $60 million shortfall over three years. I saw both good and bad in the plan (a $50-per-credit-hour “fee” hike for juniors and seniors struck me as a bit much).

Now Scarborough proposes to dramatically expand the school’s online nursing education program with the help of a private firm, Academic Partnerships. The firm is headed by Randy Best, who has been working with universities for years now (previously as head of Higher Education Holdings) and has business relationships with 30 or 40 schools.

The school wants to go from 100 online nursing students now to “thousands.” That will entail revamping the courses into eight-week segments and bringing in “academic coaches”—the kinds of change that makes faculty anxious.

Will it pan out? President Scarborough called the effort a “calculated risk.” The Chronicle author, Paul Basken, pointed out:

The nation’s online revolution is now 20 years old and maturing in many fields, such as retail, travel, banking, and video-gaming. Akron’s dilemma is a reminder that other sectors — education among them — are still working it out.

It can be done, though. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has an online M.B.A. program with tuition of $90,000. It, too, worked with a private firm, 2U Inc.