Jack Welch, the former chief executive of General Electric Co, is buying a stake in an online university and will take an active role in planning curriculum, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Welch is investing more than $2 million for a 12 percent stake in Chancellor University System LLC, the newspaper said in its electronic edition. The business is converting formerly bankrupt Myers University in Cleveland into Chancellor University.

Chancellor plans to offer most courses online. Chancellor will name its Master of Business Administration program The Jack Welch Institute, the newspaper reported.

Welch and his wife, Suzy, will be involved in recruiting faculty and planning curriculum. Welch has no plans to teach any courses, but will record a weekly video for students.

Chancellor's leading investor is entrepreneur Michael Clifford, who has launched two publicly traded education companies in the past year, the newspaper said.

Investor groups led by Clifford bought those three institutions out of troubled situations and converted them to primarily online universities.

Welch could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Jessica Hall; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Jack Welch