Last week, the Arizona Board of Regents debated the future of a proposed online university. Called the Arizona Regent's University, it would combine the online course offerings of the three state universities into a virtual university that would offer degree programs. Currently, the combined courses are available through the Arizona Distance Learning Website, but this proposal would take it to the next level by allowing students to pursue their college educations without ever setting foot on a college campus. Online classes are useful as a supplement to an undergraduate education, but they cannot replace it.

Over 500 courses are currently offered on the Web through the Arizona Distance Learning Website. Most are from NAU, and most are graduate-level courses.

A college diploma means that a student has passed a certain number of classes, but it also means a great deal more than that. A diploma signifies that the student was able to remain focused in an environment where studying isn't always the favored pastime. It means the student learned to deal with professors and fellow students in a professional manner.

A diploma from ARU would be a fundamentally different beast. It isn't that it would necessarily be worth less. Graduating from an online university would show that the student has other talents: focus, perhaps, and the drive to actually sit down in front of a computer and participate in the classes. But that's not the point: it would be a different sort of degree from the one that students currently earn, and it would be wrong to treat them as equivalents.

An online university does make sense in some areas. There's no reason that graduate-level courses can't be offered online. Having received their undergraduate degrees, these students have already had a college experience. Online classes allow them to continue their education without forcing them onto campus.