California State University Selects Pearson to Launch Cal State Online
This sort of thing has been coming for a while, in fact at a unit level you could say it is already occurring to some extent. Given the heavy internal emphasis on research output in HE it makes sense for academics to leverage the available teaching resources. The big publishers know this and provide a range of additional material.
There are certainly lecturers out there in the wide world who rely on the publishers to provide their lecture slides, and tutorial questions (and therefore pretty much the exam questions). There is also a strong temptation to use the publisher’s quiz platforms to manage and record marks. Something QA and standards people need to vigilant about.
At a local level it’s a minor problem, nothing that can’t be fixed with a bit of communication and common sense.
For a university to do it to itself strikes me as a gamble. Lower overheads vs loss of in house expertise, loss of IP, loss of market differentiation. Obviously the devil’s in the detail, but I think there is a risk of undercutting their own brand.
The evolution of Pearson’s business model continues to be interesting to watch.
Have a read of Tony Bates comments