More than six months ago, the University administration announced plans for the creation of eCornell, a for-profit corporation to market and distribute distance learning courses around the world. At last Thursday's Board of Trustees meeting in New York City, eCornell finally came to life as the Board's executive committee gave final approval to the University's plans.


But the difference between the eCornell that was presented to the faculty last spring and the eCornell that the Board of Trustees passed last week was significant -- and is a strong indication of the Pandora's Box that a university opens when it ventures into the realm of a for-profit corporation. Although The Sun remains uncomfortable with the notion of Cornell providing course content mainly with the bottom-line in mind, the University did make important alterations to its eCornell proposal that remove some of its most controversial components.


When eCornell was first presented to the Cornell community during the early part of the spring semester, University administrators raised the idea of funding the distance learning initiative with an estimated $50 million of initial investment from a number of venture capitalists. Although the University hoped that it could find alumni to support eCornell, it seemed likely that the corporation would have been controlled by investors with little tangible connection to the school. This was unacceptable.


But the University eventually, and rightfully, rejected this method of obtaining the necessary capital to get eCornell off the ground. Instead, trustees tapped a much different financial source -- the University's very sizable endowment. The trustees authorized $12 million from this pool to fund the initial year of eCornell. The University figures that this initial investment will yield large profits in the future, as businesses and individuals across the globe purchase distance learning programs from the corporation.


The Sun takes some comfort knowing that the first members of the board of directors of eCornell are all affiliated with the University, and that the money for eCornell comes from within the University. This potentially reduces some of the conflict that could have arisen between non-University investors interested solely in turning a profit and University parties concerned with maintaining the academic integrity of the Cornell name.


In addition to its choice of how to fund the initiative, the board's decision to restrict eCornell to providing only nondegree educational programs was a wise one. Cornell is more than simply a sum of its classes, though most are top-notch. Cornell sets itself apart from other schools because of the opportunities for learning and personal growth that arise outside of the classroom during daily interaction with some of the finest professors and students in the world. Any attempt at providing Cornell degrees to those who only pass pre-packaged courses on a computer screen would only serve to cheapen the value of an education earned on the East Hill.


That all being said, The Sun has consistenly expressed its reservation with the creation of a corporation that arguably compromises the mission of the University, which was founded on the ideals of education to serve the public interest, not on the goals of profit-making to serve private corporate interests. Many members of Cornell's faculty, the people affected most by any for-profit distance learning initiative, have also expressed similar reticence regarding eCornell. With this in mind, we eagerly await Wednesday's Faculty Senate meeting where the main topic will be eCornell. The debate should be lively and informative.

Archived article by Sun Staff