University of Ill. virtual campus flounders

[ham]

Thank goodness it was only $9 million.  Other cases have been much worse.    They got off cheaply.  I don't know the specifics but I assume the jackasses in charge had no distance learning experience.  I assume that things were stated in lofty terms with high ideals and nobody wanted to put their asses in drive and do the work.

Developing an existing course to present on the internet should take all of a long weekend.  Distance programs don't sell themselves.  Marketing is a big cost.  Brick and mortar schools don't face direct competition so breaking into the distance field means you have to offer something they can't find 100 other places.

I'm sure the jackasses thought it was all gravy.  They entered the market as the 500th player.  They have to impress people on service or price.  I didn't know they existed.

I'm always amazed how some individual can start up a school from nothing and end up with accreditation and 10,000 students within 10 years.  The problem is simply being blinded by their owned perceived greatness.  Applying the brick and mortar model with the lazy ass professors and bloated administration doesn't fly.

What about the United States open University.  Those assholes lost $20 million.

http://chronicle.com/free/2002/02/2002020501u.htm

Here's a listing of about $1 billion worth of losers.  Too bad the arseholes in charge of the U of Illinois program didn't know how to google.

http://nettskolen.nki.no/in_english/mega...kage6.html

Then there was UK e–University which blew $100 million, spending a big chunk of that on developing computer programs when there are many existing platforms.  Some schools use Moodle which is absolutely free and seems to work well.

http://moodle.org/

I read that executives of the UK e-flop still received princely wages, and i am sure the developers of yet the next 'wonder' online environment (in spite of many being there & now ) have been oh-so-grateful for the contracts (what about 10% tax free routed to some foreign bank account? ).
This shows that our AAA+ 'doctors' and professionals in the retinue of big brother and its breath-taking projects to make our world the best of all are clueless whichever way you approach them...
Caballo, one of the minds behind the gigantic crack of once prosperous Argentina, used to be taken on tour to show everybody the blueprint for democratic elites.
How many hundreds of billions did they waste lately? To compare, landing a probe on Titan was the biggest space enterprise of all times and cost barely 1 billion...
During the French revolution these experts typically lectured from a scaffold...before the hangman stepped in.
Today the unwashed are kept amused with MTV reality shows, 'war on terror' and the next case of 'discrimination' or 'racism'...