The Government of Ontario launched eCampus, a new online education portal for postsecondary students, on Oct. 8, 2015. With this portal, students now have access to thousands of accredited university and college courses, allowing for greater flexibility in course completion.
Reza Moridi is Ontario’s Minister of Training for Colleges and Universities. In an Oct. 8, 2015 press release, Moridi said, “Students should be excited about the eCampus online portal, which gives them the flexibility to access high quality online courses wherever and whenever works best for them.”
Features of the web portal include a searchable catalogue of course offerings, access to 277 new and redesigned courses with transferable credits between participating institutions, and easily identifiable credit transfer information. It will also include support and resources for faculty in designing and delivering online course content, as well as academic and technical support resources for all users. Ontario will invest a total of $72 million in eCampus, over five years, to support the portal’s development and operation. All 45 publicly-assisted Ontario colleges and universities are offering online courses through the web portal.
“Online education is an exciting solution to many accessibility problems in Ontario, presenting students with geographical or financial barriers the opportunity to receive high-quality education,” expressed Spencer Nestico-Semianiw, president of the Ontario undergraduate student alliance, in the same Oct. 8 press release. According to Moridi, “The web portal builds on the province’s strong foundation in e-learning and distance education and allows institutions to collaborate, share best practices and online resources, and offer state-of-the-art courses that are recognized for credit across multiple institutions.”
Although credit recognition between institutions is one of eCampus’s biggest appeals, the reality is not quite so straightforward. In order to count credits earned through eCampus towards a student’s home institution, the student must complete a request for letter of permission and obtain the appropriate approval from their home institution and submit this letter to eCampus. Students must still write an application for admission to the institution hosting the course, and application to the course means that the student must adhere to the admission requirements and process for the other institution. Many home institutions charge a fee for issuing a transcript, which is required to apply.
For each course through eCampus, financial considerations include the cost of a transcript from the home institution, the cost of application to the host institution, individual course fees (which sometimes include additional fees for the flexibility of online classes), and other associated costs, like textbooks.
If a student hopes to take multiple courses through eCampus, this can quickly add up to an expensive decision. For most universities, paying for individual courses turns out to be more expensive than a paying full- or part-time tuition.
While eCampus makes postsecondary education more accessible, it is still an involved process that takes some planning and forethought on the part of the student. It also doesn’t necessarily lift the financial burden of postsecondary education in a significant way, and in some cases may complicate a student’s credit achievement and cost more money.
The eCampus portal is part of the government’s plan to better Ontario’s educational infrastructure. This plan includes the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history and a commitment to investing in people’s talents and skills.
Since the 2002 and 2003 academic year, enrollment in Ontario universities and colleges has risen by approximately 170,000 students. With over 43 per cent more students accessing postsecondary education, the greater flexibility afforded by online and distance education learning will only make education more accessible. However, providing these programs without the significant financial burden for students is a challenge.