University of Florida Gets Approval for All-Online Four-Year Degree Program

The University of Florida received unanimous approval from the state Board of Governors on Friday for an online four-year bachelor's degree program.

UF was given a legislative mandate to create an online baccalaureate program, with $10 million in startup money and $5 million a year for the next five years. The programaims to offer the same level academic curriculum as the on-campus courses, at 75 percent of the cost of regular tuition (about $112 per credit hour), and without many of the fees residential students pay for activities and services. That means students can take the same classes from their homes and receive the same degrees as those who attend classes in person.

A small number of students are expected to enroll in the program, which is set to begin in January, but administrators hope to increase that number to 24,000 students in 10 years.

The UF online program won't offer every major, though. It will start with five bachelor's programs and is expected to expand to 35 programs by 2019. The online program began accepting applications online Sept. 3, and the cutoff for first-time freshmen is Nov. 1.

Classes are scheduled to begin Jan. 6.