University of Massachusetts enters online degree deal with China

The University of Massachusetts announced today that it would be the first foreign university to offer courses and degrees via the Internet in China.

Plans call for UMassOnline to offer credit and non-credit courses, certificate programs, and degree programs from all five UMass campuses -- through online and face to face programs -- throughout China. Forty UMassOnline courses, four certificate programs, and one master’s degree program could be made available in China within a year.

“We are very proud to have been chosen by our partners in China to enter into this agreement,” said University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson. “We have developed one of the best online education programs in the world, and that is increasingly being recognized around the globe.”

All parties are hopeful that this collaboration will pave the way for additional universities to offer curricula via the Web to Chinese students (currently, the Chinese Ministry of Education provides little recognition for online programs) and reach a very large and increasingly connected population.