In 2013, Provost Thomas Rosenbaum appointed the Provost’s Oversight Committee on Online Learning (POCOL) and charged them with: (1) overseeing the University’s first forays into online learning over a two year period; and (2) based on knowledge gained during this period, making recommendations for the University’s future utilization of, and participation in, online learning. To fulfill its charge, the committee oversaw the production of five Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) by faculty members in Booth, PSD, BSD, SSD, and Law. These experimental, non-credit courses were hosted on the Coursera and edX platforms. The Committee delivered its report in 2015 to Provost Eric D. Isaacs and made two major recommendations for the University of Chicago’s ongoing role in online learning: Develop a centralized resource on campus to facilitate and advance innovative and effective pedagogy and appoint an editorial board to review and approve online University-branded courses not otherwise vetted by a degree-granting entity.
The report does not address for-credit coursework. That question is more complex and was outside of the charge given to this committee.