"As a University we are still trying to organize ourselves to consider these things in a way that can properly address these issues," he said.

Harvard's decentralized structure has meant that only some schools in the University have been able to successfully provide distance learning programs.

And the issue had also been complicated by the drive for profits-- Carnegie Corporation President Vartan Gregorian, a former president of Brown University, has questioned whether universities should use e-learning to become "profit centers."

Despite Harvard's history of nonparticipation, HBS has taken a huge step with Stanford, planning to "share a common mission [of] educating leaders around the world," Clark says in a press release.

However, many questions arise from the decision.

For example, Gregorian told The Crimson last spring that he does not think distance learning is going to be a great success because the medium does not allow human interaction.

"Our institutions are social institutions, not just educational

institutions," he said. "There's no