Get your degree (online) from the University of California

Calculus, chemistry and physics will be among the courses that the University of California will deliver over the internet this autumn. "We have the opportunity to show everyone else how to do it," Sherry Lansing, a spokeswoman for the university, told the San Francisco Chronicle. She believes that by offering an online bachelor's degree, the University of California could expand its market share in the US and internationally.

Several academics, however, have expressed their worries that an online degree would affect the university's reputation, which has taken decades to build. They point to the damage suffered by the University of Illinois when its Global Campus online program collapsed after just two years.

Other higher-education experts, however, argue that the time is right for such a move. "Absolutely I think it's a good idea," says Sean O'Donnell, director of e-learning at Villanova University College of Engineering in Pennsylvania. "Online education has proven time and time again that, when done correctly, it is a very effective means of educating the greater masses."

But there's another reason why the University of California wants to move some of its courses online: money. Faced with a budget deficit that is expected to grow to $1.2 billion in 2010-11, the 10-campus college has already cut 2,000 employees and reduced the opening hours of its libraries.