In 2004 Harvard University started its A.L.M. and since its inception, has been wo
rking to make its Masters in Liberal Arts (A.L.M) degree more accessible through a combination of online and on-campus courses.[1] Indeed, Harvard University has for the last few years been pushing for more online course options through its ‘Extension School’.[2] Harvard University is not the only college expanding into online education, sometimes called e-learning. E-learning is defined simply as “the acquisition of knowledge and skill using electronic technologies such as [the] computer”.[3]
According to the New York Times, online course offerings have been around for nearly twenty years, but “enrollment has soared in recent years as more universities increase their offerings. More than 4.6 million college students (about one in four) were taking at least one online course in 2008”.[4] No one is questioning that online education is an attractive alternative to a more traditional college experience. Working professionals certainly have gained a great deal due to the flexibility and ease of such systems, but what about the sustainability or triple bottom line (TBL) accountability of online education? As colleges race to earn accolades concerning their social accountability[5] and online enrollment continues to outpace traditional enrollment in the US[6], online institutions of higher learning are uniquely suited to make a lasting change to our educational landscape and provide a cost effective quality education that is consistent with a triple bottom line future.
A combined survey conducted by the Princeton Review and EcoAmerica found in 2008 that “63% of college applicants would use a college’s environmental commitment as a reason to choose” a school.[7] Since then the Princeton Review, a popular admissions consulting company famous for its annual rankings of colleges, added a ‘green rating’ for the colleges it reviews. As the competition among traditional college rages over sustainable rankings from the Princeton Review are online colleges being overlooked? While relatively little research has been done on this topic in the US,
the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) and the UK's Open University Design Innovation Group (DIG) have both released some relevant studies. These studies attempt to quantify the environmental impact that higher education has and the "potential of the Internet and other elearning methods to radically reduce energy consumption and emissions."[8] The UK study found that distance learning courses “consumed nearly 90% less energy and produced 85% fewer CO2 emissions than conventional campus university courses.”[9]
One of the big differences between traditional and online colleges is how much transportation. The DIG study found a 92% reduction in "travel-related environmental impact" for those enrolled in online classes. In general traditional colleges use amazing quantities of energy. According to the EPA, “U.S. colleges spend more than $2 billion annually on energy costs—and more than 30% of that is wasted.”[10] In contrast, online education "involves very little additional impact compared to that arising from general living and consuming."[11]
Additionally, paper usage is significantly decreased through online education. On average, a person in the U.S. will use about “700 pounds of paper products per person each year”.[12] Online courses use very little paper, the DIG study found that "electronic delivery of distance courses more than halves paper and print consumption."[13]
[14]
Clare Kaufman, in her article ‘Seven Ways to Save the World with Your College Degree’, adds that online education also “promotes large-scale conversations”. When talking about an established online class, “it can be scaled to serve large numbers of students with negligible impact on the resources consumed.”[15] Through economies of scale, the average cost per unit falls as the scale of output is increased. Similar to being able to serve large audiences, Ms. Kaufman believes that online education increases civic responsibility. According to the Sloan Consortium, “73% of Chief Academic Officers report that online education reaches students not served by face-to-face programs, and cite improved student access as their top reason for offering online courses and programs.”[16] This is important if the US as a country seeks to raise the overall level of education and ‘open the minds of students to become the leaders of tomorrow’.[17]
Like many institutions of higher learning, be it Harvard University or an online university, the challenges are similar. Like startup companies, both Harvard and other online colleges have to adapt into the changes that the internet has brought. While the efforts of traditional universities to make their campuses more sustainable and therefore attractive to college applicants is noteworthy and long overdue. They will still have far to go to reach the same eco-friendly and socially accountable standing of online colleges. More research needs to be done in this field. Specifically more studies in the United States need to be done that focus on this shift toward online education and what it means. Is part of the reason that people are pursuing online degrees with such intensity because they are more sustainable than their traditional counterparts? Whatever the reasons, online enrollment has not leveled off and is not slowing down. Neither is the need to socially responsible alternatives and triple bottom line accountability to help reduce energy usage and green house gas emissions. Although enrolling in online career training may not seem as environmentally friendly as buying a hybrid car or recycling your shampoo bottles, “the ease, flexibility and convenience of online education can make being green -- and earning green -- easier than you could ever have imagined.”[18]
[1] http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/10/a-century-of-everyday-learning/[2] http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2010-11/programs/management/overview/ , http://www.ehow.com/about_5201979_harvard-extension-history.html[3] http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?lextype=3&search=e-learning[4] http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/pdf/learningondemand.pdf , http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/college-degrees-without-going-to-class/?scp=2&sq=Room%20for%20debate&st=cse[5] http://cleantechnica.com/2008/07/27/colleges-race-to-earn-most-sustainable-campus-honor/[6] http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/college-degrees-without-going-to-class/?scp=2&sq=Room%20for%20debate&st=cse[7] http://cleantechnica.com/2008/07/27/colleges-race-to-earn-most-sustainable-campus-honor/[8] http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Distance-learning-courses-consume-nearly-90--less-energy-and-produced-85--fewer-CO2-emissions/374094/[9] Wilkinson A, Hill MR, Gollan P. The Sustainability Debate. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 2001; 21(12): 1492-1502 Mirsa, Krisha B. Handbook of PerformabilityEngineering. http://books.google.com/books?id=cPgXg3GIMAsC&pg=PA871&dq=distance+learning+courses+consumed+nearly+90%25+less+energy+and+produced+85%25+fewer+CO2+emissions+than+conventional+campus+university+courses.&hl=en&ei=7vCBTKr0F8GBlAeHysGSDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=distance%20learning%20courses%20consumed%20nearly%2090%25%20less%20energy%20and%20produced%2085%25%20fewer%20CO2%20emissions%20than%20conventional%20campus%20university%20courses.&f=false[10] http://www.distance-education.org/Articles/Going-Green--Why-Distance-Education-is-Better-for-the-Environment-46.html[11] Ibid.[12] http://www.tappi.org/paperu/all_about_paper/faq.htm[13] http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-advisor/indepth/save-world-online.php[14] http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-advisor/indepth/save-world-online.php[15] Ibid.[16] Ibid.[17] Ibid.[18] http://encarta.degreesandtraining.com/articles.jsp?article=featured_be_green_earn_green
Picture at beginning from http://thecollegesolutionblog.com/2009/09/09/the-secrets-of-getting-into-harvard/
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