{"id":25221,"date":"2015-09-07T11:59:28","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T15:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=25221"},"modified":"2015-09-16T08:31:59","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T12:31:59","slug":"future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students from around Virginia are getting veterinary technician associate degrees from Blue Ridge Community College though they rarely set foot on campus.<\/p>\n

Moms and dads stifled temporally by their work schedules and parenting duties \u201cattend\u201d class at home, at night or on the weekend.<\/p>\n

Some Eastern Mennonite University students will earn a degree in a field even though the school doesn\u2019t have a full department in the discipline on campus. All this is made possible by online learning, a growing segment of higher education.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur main job is to serve the community, so this gives us another option to serve the community,\u201d said Bob Young, Blue Ridge\u2019s vice president of instruction and student services. \u201cWhen [online classes] first started, we thought were going to be giving these classes all over world, but most people live within our service area. They\u2019re taking it because it\u2019s a better way for them to get their education.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that mission, online learning is a big part of BRCC\u2019s education-delivery system. Young said the school offers about 120 of its approximately 750 total courses, or 16 percent, totally online, and another 18 percent are hybrids with classroom and online facets.<\/p>\n

Most online classes are available whenever the student wants to view them, allowing part-time students with busy lives to continue their education. Young said 60 percent of BRCC\u2019s students take courses part time.<\/p>\n

EMU and James Madison University offer some undergraduate courses online, but graduate education is where the technological advancement is most used.<\/p>\n

Sarah MacDonald, interim senior director of outreach and engagement, said JMU has five master\u2019s degrees and six certificate programs that can be competed entirely online.<\/p>\n

\"(20150819)<\/a>
EMU recently equipped several of its classrooms with technology that allows for enhanced distance learning.
(Daniel Lin\/Daily News-Record)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

EMU is using online learning as a way to add degrees without a full faculty in a field. Provost Fred Kniss<\/a> said it collaborates with Goshen College in Indiana and Bluffton University in Ohio, schools also affiliated with the Mennonite Church, to offer a master\u2019s degree in business administration<\/a> and even a new undergraduate offering.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, we launched a sociology major, with broader access to subfields<\/a>,\u201d Kniss said. \u201cWe went from a faculty of two to a faculty of about six or seven [with the professors at the other colleges].<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for small liberal arts colleges, this is going to be part of the wave of the future, to find ways to collaborate with each other to enhance\u00a0 their offerings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tough To Teach<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Online courses usually require students to do more than watch a recorded lecture. They can involve chat or discussion board participation, PowerPoint presentations and other methods that facilitate learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge,\u201d said Greg Cook, Blue Ridge\u2019s instructional technologist, \u201cis to create a virtual classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

While an online class might alleviate a student of the burden of being in class at a specific time, that might be the only thing that\u2019s easier. Young said students must be dedicated to meet assignment deadlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s done right,\u201d said Cook, \u201cit\u2019s actually a little bit harder. The instructor probably is going to give you more to do to make sure you\u2019re engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same goes for the professor. Instructors, Young said, must have everything for the course ready to go on the first day, respond to student inquiries sent at odd hours, and update the online classroom regularly.<\/p>\n

Some courses are synchronous, but most don\u2019t require a student to sign on for class at a specified time.<\/p>\n

Just because a student doesn\u2019t need a classroom or a desk, that doesn\u2019t mean the classes are less expensive. Schools must buy software to host online classes, train faculty members to use it effectively, and have enough bandwidth to support the endeavor, said Young.<\/p>\n

With education costs rising, however, university officials said online learning might help stem cost increases by allowing schools to serve students in far-flung locales with minimal infrastructure investment.<\/p>\n

\"(20150819)<\/a>
Cameras placed at each end of the classroom can be controlled and utilized in a variety of methods to help enhance the classroom experience for those connecting remotely to EMU’s classrooms.
(Daniel Lin\/Daily News-Record)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think of it more as way to enhance quality and access for the same price,\u201d Kniss said. \u201cIt saves money for the student if he\u2019s not having to move and pay room and board on campus, but it doesn\u2019t really result in lower tuition. \u2026\u00a0\u00a0 In the long run, it might allow us to grow our enrollment without growing the physical plant, give us a better product to market without expanding our faculty and staff or bricks and mortar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graduate Offerings<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Blue Ridge is the most advanced local higher-education institution when it comes to online education, having offered classes via the Internet since 1997. Young said some of its associate degrees can be earned entirely online with the exception of reporting for a proctored exam.<\/p>\n

Thanks to online education, students statewide can take BRCC\u2019s veterinary technician course and only report to the Weyers Cave campus for laboratory work. One of only two vet-tech programs in the state, Young said distance-learning students go to one of four sites in Virginia to view lectures via direct video and are under the guidance of an on-site vet tech.<\/p>\n

At JMU, MacDonald said many of its online course offerings during the school year are for working adults. It has programs that allow adults to complete degrees as well as graduate-level courses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think of it more of as a way provide access to students who wouldn\u2019t otherwise be able to attend JMU,\u201d said MacDonald. \u201cOffering our programs online provides access to those students and gives us greater reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the summer, she said, some professors offer courses online so students can continue working toward a degree without being in Harrisonburg, but no undergraduate programs can be completed totally online.<\/p>\n

MacDonald said many of the people taking JMU\u2019s online courses are former students, with the vast majority living in the mid-Atlantic region. However, the school does have international students taking classes online.<\/p>\n

Though the school began offering online classes for seminary students about 15 years ago, Kniss said it\u2019s \u201ccautiously\u201d expanded such courses over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to be in front of the curve on this, and we don\u2019t want to do anything that would diminish the value of the degree and the quality of education we provide,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we do have a strategic interest in providing broader access to an EMU education.\u201d<\/p>\n

To do that, Kniss said the university is broadening its online programming for undergraduates and expanding its collaborative offerings with other universities. For example, by taking online courses offered by partner universities as well as classes at EMU, students can earn a collaborative master\u2019s degree in business administration.<\/p>\n

Summer school classes for undergraduates, he said, also another potential growth area.<\/p>\n

Brian Gumm<\/a>, online education design specialist for the university, said a number of undergraduate online general education courses that originated at EMU\u2019s Lancaster, Pa., campus now are being offered in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of the Daily News-Record, Aug. 25, 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students from around Virginia are getting veterinary technician associate degrees from Blue Ridge Community College though they rarely set foot on campus. Moms and dads stifled temporally by their work ... read more about Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[265,6287],"tags":[13590,11352],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-25221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seminary","category-social-work","tag-brian-gumm","tag-fred-kniss"],"yoast_head":"\nFuture is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Students from around Virginia are getting veterinary technician associate degrees from Blue Ridge Community College though they rarely set foot on campus. Moms and dads stifled temporally by their work\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-07T15:59:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-09-16T12:31:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/08\/081915-EMU-Tech-Classroom1-DL_web.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"610\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/\",\"name\":\"Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/08\/081915-EMU-Tech-Classroom1-DL_web.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-07T15:59:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-09-16T12:31:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/08\/081915-EMU-Tech-Classroom1-DL_web.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/08\/081915-EMU-Tech-Classroom1-DL_web.jpg\",\"width\":610,\"height\":370,\"caption\":\"(20150819) - (Harrisonburg) EMU Online Education Design Specialist Brian Gumm poses for a photo utilizing some of the distance learning technology available in select classrooms at Eastern Mennonite University. (Daniel Lin\/Daily News-Record)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online - EMU News","og_description":"Students from around Virginia are getting veterinary technician associate degrees from Blue Ridge Community College though they rarely set foot on campus. Moms and dads stifled temporally by their work","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2015-09-07T15:59:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-09-16T12:31:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":610,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/08\/081915-EMU-Tech-Classroom1-DL_web.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/","name":"Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/08\/081915-EMU-Tech-Classroom1-DL_web.jpg","datePublished":"2015-09-07T15:59:28+00:00","dateModified":"2015-09-16T12:31:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/08\/081915-EMU-Tech-Classroom1-DL_web.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/08\/081915-EMU-Tech-Classroom1-DL_web.jpg","width":610,"height":370,"caption":"(20150819) - (Harrisonburg) EMU Online Education Design Specialist Brian Gumm poses for a photo utilizing some of the distance learning technology available in select classrooms at Eastern Mennonite University. (Daniel Lin\/Daily News-Record)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/future-is-now-for-distance-learning-increasingly-students-finding-degree-opportunities-online\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Future is now for distance learning: increasingly, students finding degree opportunities online"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245","name":"admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25221"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25269,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25221\/revisions\/25269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25221"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=25221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}