UGA aims for more online degree programs
A proposed new online master's degree in reading education marks only the third program at the University of Georgia for which students can take classes entirely online - whether they live in New York City or Nicholson.
But UGA administrators are gearing up to take more of the university into cyberspace, following the lead of some other big state flagship schools like Pennsylvania State University and the University of Wisconsin.
Those and a few other universities have begun teaching hundreds of courses with thousands of students over the Internet - opening their online doors to students all across the country and even other countries.
"(Online learning) has been a largely dormant opportunity here," said Jere Morehead, UGA provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "I think we have a lot of opportunity there."
Less than a month after Morehead became provost, he convened a task force to determine how UGA should modify or expand its online offerings, and now UGA has hired a person to put the task force's recommendations into effect, Morehead said.
UGA isn't headed for a future where students sit in their dorm room, turn on the television set or computer and take in a class, he said.
Instead, administrators see distance education as a way to expand enrollment, particularly in graduate programs, and as a strategy to compete for students.
"I really think that this is the future, the next step in the evolution of education," said Janet Truluck, coordinator of the UGA online adult education master's degree program.
Begun in 2001, Truluck's program was the first completely online degree UGA offered.
Truluck hopes the university will take a big step this fall by setting a new tuition rate for students in the program, the so-called e-rate.
Up until now, students from outside Georgia had to pay high out-of-state tuition, which discouraged many students from enrolling, Truluck said.
"Once they see what they've got to pay, they just go to other places," she said.
With the so-called e-rate, all the students pay the same tuition - about halfway between in-state and out-of-state tuition costs.
Truluck believes the new rate will bring in more students fro
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