From ivory tower to academic sweatshop
Jan. 26, 2005 | As distance learning grows into a $5 billion a year market — up 38 percent in 2004 alone — virtual classrooms are no longer the sole province of dot-coms and for-profit schools like DeVry and Phoenix. Top universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Duke now offer full credit for online courses. On campuses nationwide, distance learning is moving out of the pedagogical fringe and into the institutional mainstream.