Drexel Online will no longer be a for-profit venture

Drexel University Online will no longer be a for-profit venture, Drexel University said this week, as it announced its hiring ofSusan Aldridge as its first Senior Vice President of Online Learning. Aldridge will also serve as the president of Drexel University Online.

Drexel University Online was previously run as a for-profit subsidiary of Drexel University. Though linked, the companies were two separate entities. Now, Drexel Online will be a department inside Drexel University because the school decided that it would best serve its online students by operating as one unified entity, said Todd Lucca, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Drexel University Online. Drexel has been offering online degrees since 1996.

A fellow at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Aldridge was previously the president of University of Maryland University College, which came into its own as the the country’s largest public online-focused college under her tenure. She resigned from that post in 2012 amid controversy. Some said that Aldridge was more concerned with enrollment and revenue than with learning, the Washington Post reported. Drexel told CBS Philly that it’s looked into these allegations and is certain that Aldridge is the best person for the job.

Drexel Online graduated more than 1,200 students this spring, making up roughly a quarter of the more than 5,000 students that graduated from Drexel in 2013.