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The University of Minnesota will pay Google $2.36 million to create a new online learning platform for the health sciences bachelor’s degree program at the Rochester campus.
Starting in summer 2022, students will begin working toward their degree on an accelerated schedule, using a combination of virtual and in-person learning.
The nearby Mayo Clinic will be integrated into the coursework, providing oversight, mentorship and opportunities for applied, experiential learning.
U President Joan Gabel said students will graduate ready for a wide variety of high-tech health careers.
“This will cut (students’) costs and will allow us to also document and track the way in which they learn in a new digital portfolio,” Gabel on Thursday told the Board of Regents, which unanimously approved the Google contract.
Rochester expects to enroll an initial 50 students in the program, but that number could grow quickly after the first cohort.
Gabel said there’s “potential for unbelievable return,” describing financial modeling that showed 1,000 students would generate $6 million in new tuition revenue.
After the big initial investment with Google, Gabel, said, “The program very quickly becomes revenue-positive.”
The learning platform, once developed, will belong to the U, and there’s no limit to the number of students it can handle.
The project figures to benefit other academic programs throughout a U system that had been slow to embrace online learning.
Exploring online education and expanding health sciences have been strategic priorities for Gabel and the regents. With help from the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the U to quickly pivot to remote teaching, Gabel said the U has landed on a “world-class, unique idea.”
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