UMass Online, according to its website, is "putting the power of the five-campus University (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester) behind online higher education. . ." within a "one-stop marketplace. . ."

The planning and development of UMass Online got its start in June 2000, and the UMass Online website went live in February 2001 for the Spring 2001 semester. Currently, UMass Online has a combined total of approximately 6,000 enrollments.

Currently, UMass Online programs are being targeted primarily toward working professionals and meeting community needs in the Northeastern U.S., says CEO Jack Wilson. "Massachusetts has a very high tech, highly educated workforce. The competitive edge is in good education and being on the cutting edge in high technology. So, when you look at a lot of the community needs, we realize that obviously we are going to continue in the IT area and in the bio medical areas. Nursing is also a huge community need, and a tough one to fill, but there is going to be a lot of work going on to make that happen."

Since UMass Online is in its early stages, a consistent approach to course and program development has not yet been fully realized. However, "we are not being doctrinaire," says Wilson. "We are looking at blended models; we are looking at having some courses be face-to-face; we’ll be online; we’ll be using interactive compressed video when appropriate; and we have some straight asynchronous learning courses."

UMass Online is supported by a council of continuing education comprised of the continuing education deans and directors from each of the UMass campuses.

As head of the online campus, Wilson’s CEO title seems to work better than the theoretically correct "chancellor," he says. "If I go out to industry and say ‘Hi, I’m the chancellor,’ they would have no idea who they are talking to."

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