Duplication in

The Age of Obama. Most states have policies that prevent unnecessary course duplication and protect the "service areas" of schools. In Tennessee, we call it The 30 Mile Rule. Increasingly, these rules become moot with online program delivery. But we can still fight about them.

Educational Culture Clash

Morgan State University has objected to a proposal by the University of Maryland University College to create a doctoral program in community college administration. That program, the historically black Morgan State claimed, would be too similar to one it already offers.

It is certainly not the first objection Morgan State has raised to programs that could compete with it, but this time there's a wrinkle: While UMUC has a physical headquarters in Adelphi, Md., almost its entire curriculum is provided online. The proposed doctoral program in community college administration would include only nine classroom sessions over three years.

James E. Lyons, Sr., the state secretary of higher education and head of the Maryland Higher Education Commission, said that this is the first case he knows of where a duplication charge has been levied against an online degree program. “The Fordice case did not deal with online education,” Lyons said. “…Now we are talking about something quite different that could very well have an impact. I guess I see online education as sort of redoing many of the things we’ve come to know in higher
education.”

And the issues don't just involve historically black colleges. State higher education boards such as the Maryland Higher Education Commission are often tasked with avoiding “unnecessary duplication” of in-state higher-education programs -- whether or not a historically black institution is involved. Fordice gives historically black colleges more grounds to protest competing programs, but the issue of duplication is present everywhere these days, given the need to use state dollars wisely.

In all duplication discussions, online education stands to affect the conversation, possibly in a dramatic way. Web-based degree programs that serve borderless populations present a challenge to state regulators of higher education, who must decide what constitutes duplication in an era where certain universities are neighbors to everyone — and no one. In fact, UMUC (just like other public distance education institutions) offers many degrees that other institutions in the state offer as well.