Online learning will revolutionise tertiary education and the University of Otago should be on board, Waikato University's Michael Peters says.
Prof Peters' comments come after both Waikato University and Massey University recently announced their entry into the ''massive open online courses'' - known as MOOCs - sector.
In contrast to these universities, Otago University appeared cold to the idea of running MOOCs, with vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne recently saying they posed no threat to the ''traditional university experience''.
The university was instead going to stick with ''face to face'' learning and take advantage of the fact it was New Zealand's ''only truly residential university'', Prof Hayne said in the latest University of Otago Magazine.
Prof Peters, who has studied the exponential growth of online learning, said all New Zealand universities should experiment with MOOCs, which he believed would be part of a wider ''digital revolution'' of higher education.
''I don't think we can be left out of that experiment,''he said.
There was merit in Otago University emphasising its residential and ''face to face'' model, but it was not a case of ''either or'' and online courses could be offered alongside traditionally taught courses.
He disagreed with Prof Hayne's comments that the business models for MOOCs ''hang by a thread''.
While it was still ''very early days'', the venture capitalists who had invested tens of millions of dollars in online courses would figure out how to make them pay.
This could include charging for courses or just charging for certification once people had completed courses.
Prof Peters was enthusiastic about the opportunities MOOCs presented, but their growth was not without risks.
A situation could arise where ''celebrity professors'' were supported by ''technical adjuncts'' - a situation people should be ''justly worried'' about.
Whatever the future held for online education, there needed to be more discussion among New Zealand academics and universities about the opportunities presented by MOOCs.