When most people think about what sort of institutions of higher education offer eLearning, there are a few types that come to mind. Many people think about for-profit institutions, both those like Capella and Northcentral University that offer programs exclusively online, and those like the University of Phoenix that have many campuses sprinkled all over, but also offer programs online to many students. Some people also think about how public universities, private non-profit schools, and even community colleges are offering eLearning these days.

One sector of higher education that definitely doesnt ring in most peoples minds when eLearning is mentioned, however, is that of liberal arts colleges. These institutions are far better known for offering a classical education to traditional age undergraduates. And these schools have gone well out of their way to earn a reputation for being a place where students and faculty interact closely, with some of the lowest student-faculty ratios in all of academia, fueled by tuition rates that would turn any for-profit university CEO green with envy.

Now, however, at least a tentative step toward use of technology in education may be taking place at liberal arts colleges, starting with tony Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. From the article:

Bryn Mawr won a $250,000 grant from Next Generation Learning Challenges this spring to explore how online courseware could fit into the close-knit liberal-arts experience. The software, a sophisticated form of “computer tutor,” will be introduced into traditional math and science classes this fall to improve course-completion rates. Professors at even the most tony colleges say they are seeing completion—and math- and science-major retention—as more of a problem.

Its important to note whats not happening here, and thats the offering of actual online courses. Instead, Bryn Mawr is simply experimenting with how to make better use of technology to improve the effectiveness of its existing traditional courses. That theyre willing to do this goes to show that theres something to be said for technology-mediated learning even in the most old fashioned of educational environments, and thats an encouraging sign for those who believe that one can embrace the benefits of the future without giving up that which has worked well in the past.

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