U of I pushes Global Campus toward independence

CHAMPAIGN _ University of Illinois trustees have voted to let the school's Global Campus pursue independent, accredited status that they hope will speed up course development and enrollment.

The trustees, meeting in Springfield, also decided Thursday to let the online campus borrow the University of Illinois-Chicago's accreditation so it can create new classes right away. Full accreditation could take two years or more to achieve.

The move toward independence is intended to jump-start what has been a disappointingly slow first 10 months for the virtual campus.

University spokesman Tom Hardy says trustees initially planned to only discuss the idea. But the discussion made clear that trustees were frustrated by the slow start and ready to act.