Minnesota says no to online education [updated]

Written by

Will Oremus for Slate:

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the state has decided to crack down on free education, notifying California-based startup Coursera that it is not allowed to offer its online courses to the state’s residents. Coursera, founded by Stanford computer science professors Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng, partners with top-tier universities around the world to offer certain classes online for free to anyone who wants to take them. You know, unless they happen to be from Minnesota. A policy analyst for the state’s Office of Higher Education told The Chronicle that Minnesota is simply enforcing a longstanding state law requiring colleges to get the government’s permission to offer instruction within its borders. She couldn’t say whether other online education startups like edX and Udacity were also told to stay out.

Someone ought to warn Apple that iTunes U is apparently illegal in Minnesota.

This is one of the stupidest things I’ve heard of. The state’s position is completely unenforceable. Time for the bureaucrats running the Office of Higher Education to get their heads out of their asses and recognize it’s 2012. Unless they’re going to shut down the Internet in Minnesota, I highly doubt they’re going to be able to stop people from learning stuff online there.

Friend of The Loop Julio Ojeda-Zapata follows up in a piece published in Pioneer Press. Apparently the state is easing restrictions on online schools:

Hey, all you colleges and universities not in Minnesota: Want to offer a free, online, not-for-credit course to people living here, no questions asked? This is your lucky day. The State of Minnesota has stopped enforcing a 20-year-old statute requiring such institutions to go through a lengthy registration process before they could offer no-cost Internet coursework.


  • Elrol

    I don’t want to be rude to lovely folks in Minnesota but this is just retarded beyond belief. State putting stop to free education? Really? Like, WHY? I really am speechless after reading this.

    • Leon Speegle

      1) it’s an election year 2) unionized teachers vote

      Wouldn’t want any kind of pesky competition coming around and mucking up a perfectly profitable business model now would we?

  • imthedude

    What do you expect when they elect the likes of Michelle Bachmann?

    • http://profiles.google.com/larry.davis Larry Davis

      And Jesse Ventura and Al Franken. It’s a circus here.

      • http://www.theuniversalsteve.com SSteve

        Sorry to get political, but Al Franken is probably one of the smartest and most dedicated people in the Senate. That’s all I will say on the matter. I don’t intend to start a flame war.

      • imthedude

        Bachmann is miles worse than Ventura and Franken. Sanity wise, she’s prob on parallel with Ventura though.

  • Unit_01

    I currently work in online higher education. This is a move to protect brick and mortar universities in Minn from online threats. Lobbyists at their best.

    • lucascott

      Yep. Personally I think if Minnesota doesn’t want it’s people using this stuff then it is up to them to find a way to block it, not the providers.

  • http://profiles.google.com/larry.davis Larry Davis

    Their position seems to be degree-granting universities. Though the ones providing the courses do offer degrees, these particular courses won’t earn you any degree…and don’t cost anything (since the concern is paying for bad education). So I’m not sure what MN’s issue is.

    BTW, I live in MN and I will probably sign up for Coursera out of civil disobedience.

    • http://www.theuniversalsteve.com SSteve

      You should organize a learn-in.

  • http://bobmartens.net/ Bob Martens

    Entrenched interests getting their way. Awesome.

    As a Minnesota resident, this is just one example why I am utterly and completely “sour” on the entire education system … top to bottom. The whole thing stinks.

  • http://www.theuniversalsteve.com SSteve

    I’m with you, Peter. This is irrational beyond belief. So the Office of Higher Education believes Minnesotans should not be allowed to learn anything outside of an accredited institution? I guess that means they’d better not be selling any books there. They have heard that people learn things from books outside of school, right? What about blogs that have programming tutorials? Better block them off at the state line.

    Honestly, I’m absolutely flummoxed. Besides being unenforceable, how can this be constitutional?

    • lucascott

      On the one hand, accreditation is supposed to come with quality controls. On the other, much of the stuff they want to block comes from accredited schools so this seems like a kind of double dipping to protect their local interests (i.e. tuition money)

  • pawhite524

    Please bear with me while I play Devil’s Advocate for a moment. I ask forbearance in the name of finding the truth.

    Just how difficult is it to get Minnesota’s permission to offer free on-line education? Is it mostly a formality? Is it a money grab for a “license fee” that the likes of the University of Phoenix, Capella, et al can pay easily because of their exorbitant fees for on-line classes? Is it possible the Minnesota passed such a law just to keep its “duck in a row” as to what educational group is doing what within its borders? Do other states have the same requirements? I really don’t know and the Will Oremus article cited above does not seek to ask these questions, apparently.

    I have no horse in this race. I try to keep my cynicism at bay until quite a few questions get answered. It’s almost sad that all of the skepticism and cynicism as to why Minnesota’s government has taken this stance do seem the most likely answers. If this occurred in MA or NY, states I have lived in for many years, I’d already be voting with cynics.