Layoffs Mark End of Controversial U. of Illinois Online Effort

The University of Illinois is eliminating the jobs of most staff members of its Global Campus, an ambitious and controversial effort to create a major distance education unit, functioning largely independently of the university's campuses and their faculties, The News-Gazette reported. A new distance education effort is being planned in its place. The Global Campus has been a source of concern to faculty members from the start, as many said it was created without adequate academic oversight by professors.