The Cornell University Board of Trustees has approved a recommendation to create e-Cornell, a legally separate but Cornell-controlled for-profit company to create and market distance learning programs.

The board approved the recommendation from President Hunter Rawlings at its regularly scheduled meeting held today (Friday, March 10, 2000), at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on campus. The vote authorizes the administration to take such steps as are necessary to create e-Cornell, but the resolution does not include any material financial commitment by the university to the new entity.

"Distance learning will be a fundamental part of higher education in the 21st century, and this resolution enables Cornell to take a leadership role in the process," Rawlings said. "The benefits of e-Cornell will accrue to Cornell students on-campus and to prospective students, alumni and others who will be able to access the wealth of Cornell's educational resources through distance learning programs."

The resolution also provides for continued faculty consultation in the implementation of e-Cornell. It specifically calls for consultation with "deans and college/school faculty involved in the development of particular distance education projects and programs; the Faculty Advisory Group and University Conflicts Committee charged with providing guidance on the application of the University Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment policies; and the Faculty Advisory Board on Information Technology with respect to information technology infrastructure issues, the faculty Senate's Committee on Academic Programs and Policies with respect to any proposed online degree programs, and the Faculty Senate's Educational Policies Committee with respect to general educational policy issues related to distance learning."

Vice Provost Mary Sansalone, who briefed trustees on the proposal, said e-Cornell will be the commercial entity that will be authorized to use the Cornell University name for the production of distance learning programs. A for-profit entity will be able to attract capital investment and, with its significant commercial potential, will help provide additional revenue for on-campus programs and compensation for faculty members, she said.

"The goal is to create mechanisms to realize many of the good ideas proposed by previous distance learning committees and by colleges and individual faculty members," Sansalone said. "But e-Cornell is just one of those mechanisms."

In addition, she said, "e-Cornell will protect the Cornell name while the university adapts to an educational world increasingly shaped by information technology. And, it will ensure that Cornell and its colleges and faculty gain the greatest possible return on distance learning programs."

E-Cornell will negotiate third-party, for-profit distance learning partnerships involving the Cornell name. A formal agreement between the university and e-Cornell will address key issues, including use of the university's name and marks and other licensing issues, and parameters of university oversight and approval. However, that does not include distance learning analogies to faculty members writing a book and noting their Cornell affiliations.

Provost Don Randel said that as a for-profit corporation, e-Cornell can promote the following opportunities:

• operate in a complex and dynamic market environment;
• generate significant revenues that can be used for faculty compensation, support of faculty lines, programs and laboratories;
• attract the capital needed to launch new programs;
• partner with third parties and commercial partners when needed for capital and greater name recognition in the marketplace;
• partner with other universities and entities that may want to sell their content through e-Cornell;
• provide opportunities for transfer of technological advances made by e-Cornell to the university with the goal of enhancing other not-for-profit instruction by Cornell faculty for Cornell students.
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Sansalone said she and Vice Provost Cutberto Garza will work with deans, program directors and heads of other units to refer promising ideas and activities to e-Cornell. Faculty developing the programs will have complete oversight of academic content and admissions standards for their programs, just as they do now, Sansalone said. Further, the university will retain the right to use all content produced by e-Cornell for on-campus instruction.

Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) will continue to provide support for technology-based instructional activities that enhance learning of Cornell students and will bring promising ideas to e-Cornell.

Sansalone said the initial strategy for e-Cornell would be to:

• offer continuing education programs from Cornell's top professional schools;
• couple the Cornell University Library and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art digitization efforts with its distance learning programs and activities;
• capitalize on Cornell's unique strengths represented by its Laboratory of Ornithology, Plantations and Shoals Marine Laboratory; and
• seek partnerships when name recognition in the marketplace and/or capital are needed to launch new programs.