Leading Article: Virtual future

Since the much-heralded E-university initiative collapsed and the Open University pulled out of its ambitious US venture, little has been heard about the amazing benefits of online learning. But now Essex University is launching a two-year foundation degree wholly online in partnership with the US education firm Kaplan. The first course, which will be in business studies, starts in July. All the teaching will be done by Kaplan Open Learning, a specially created affiliated college of Essex. It is undoubtedly sensible to go into business with a company that has experience in the field. This could work where previous initiatives failed.