Area colleges expand online offerings
By MICHAEL ERB, merb@newsandsentinel.comPARKERSBURG - Opportunities to earn local college credits online continue to grow in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
West Virginia University at Parkersburg's offerings recently expanded with four degrees that can be earned through online classes. The regionally accredited degrees will be delivered completely online. They include the Associate of Applied Science in Business Technology; the Associate of Applied Science in Multi-Craft Technology; the Associate of Science in Business Administration, and the Associate of Arts.
"We see this as our growth area," said Connie Dziagwa, spokeswoman for WVU-P. "We have expanded our offerings based solely on student demand. We have seen more students wanting to take part in online courses."
One-third of enrollment in summer classes was online in 2008, Dziagwa said, and the number is expected to increase as more students make use of online services.
WVU-P also offers some non-credit courses online, often called personal enrichment classes.
"We do have online, non-credit classes, but they do have tuition attached," Dziagwa said. "You are taking them for your own personal enrichment."
Some classes also are designed for professional development, and allow people to gain further skills in their chosen fields.
Dziagwa said those interested in taking online courses should check out the college's Web site at www.wvup.edu to see a full list of available courses and degrees. Residents also can call the school's admissions office to speak with a counselor and best determine which courses, either online or on campus, would best suit their needs.
Marietta College, by contrast, only offers online courses during the summer months, said spokesman Tom Perry.
"Our goal is really to help students who need to pick up general course work," he said. "They can still go home for the summertime and get Marietta College credits there. It is cheaper for the students, they don't have to mess with transferring from another institution, and they are still taking the classes from us."
Perry said the number of students taking advantage of online courses has increased in recent years, as have the number of classes offered. In the summer of 2006, nine classes were offered online, compared to 24 in the summer of 2008. The school also saw a more than 40 percent jump in enrollment for online classes in 2008, and 96 percent of the students enrolled in those classes completed them successfully.
Perry said when looking at the total number of students taking summer courses at Marietta College, 74 percent of those enrolled signed up for at least one online class.
"This is still a small number of our 1,400 to 1,600 students who attend Marietta College. We are still very much a residential college, and that is our focus," he said. "This just gives us the opportunity to provide an extra service for our students during the summer months."
More information on Marietta College's course offerings can be found at www.marietta.edu.
Ohio Valley University plans to expand its online course offerings over the next year through a contract with LearningHouse, Inc., a provider of online coursework
"Ohio Valley University recognizes the significant benefit that being able to take courses online gives students," said Jim Bullock, OVU vice president for academic affairs. "From the perspective of many students, having the option to take courses online means the difference between completing a university degree or not, because of the added convenience, flexibility, and accessibility that this learning format makes possible."
Bullock said the agreement will allow both students and staff more online options.
"Enabling OVU professors to teach courses to more students than ever before, the new platform expands both the number and the variety of the courses we can provide to students," he said. "We are excited to be able to offer this increased service to students near and far."
More information on OVU's course offerings can be found at www.ovu.edu.
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wvno11
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01-04-09 11:22 AM
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What the talking college mouthpieces, like Dzwhatever, don't tell the public, is the attrition rate (dropouts, and failures) for these classes is over 50%. They are a complete waste of taxpayer money. Online courses, are, in a word, moronic. According to her, if students want a degree, without completing the requirements (like our Gov's daughter wanted) we should just give them the degree. After all, it's based on "student demand."
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