Overview of Online and Blended Programs
Since the mid-1990s, the University of Minnesota has offered classes and later full academic programs through online and blended delivery. The University now offers more than 85 online learning programs (some with short-term residencies) through its campuses, providing educational access to both local and distance learners. The Duluth and Crookston campuses along with eleven Twin Cities collegiate units offer at least one completely online program. In the academic year (2021-22), over 4,600 courses were available online and more than 43,900 students were enrolled in at least one online course. Over 3,100 students were enrolled completely online out of 68,000 students in the UMN system.
In the online and blended learning area, the Office of Distributed Learning collaborates with academic units to:
- develop plans for professional development for online instructors,
- engage faculty with tools and resources for teaching online,
- assess feasibility, costs, and marketing approaches for online programs,
- articulate and develop unit-level approaches for strategic online course offerings,
- foster networks across the University of Minnesota to deepen online learning experiences,
- support academic unit efforts to provide students with expanded access to degree and certificate programs through online and blended options,
- provide prospective students information on online and blended courses and programs through the University of Minnesota Online website and call center,
- advocate for streamlined policies,
- oversee the U of M Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) partnership with Coursera, and
- provide leadership for inter-institutional online partnerships related to online learning.