University Classes Diversify to Help Students

Certain University of Cincinnati course lists are being diversified to accommodate students who wish to supplement their education.

Distance learning, a program in which the work is done through nontraditional methods, is currently being offered by 10 of the university’s 14 main campus colleges and can be accessed anywhere with an Internet connection.

As of Autumn 2008, more than 2,800 students enrolled in the distance learning program. Although the majority of those who took the courses were from the United States, there were also students who took classes from farther regions such as Kuwait and Belize.

“We’re working overtime to make sure students get the most out of online education,” said Eugene Rutz, academic director of the College of Engineering’s distance learning program.

Rutz has been laboring to effectively use the Internet to help students both in college and prospective UC engineers who have not enrolled.

“We have an outreach for high schools,” Rutz said. “We give a pre-engineering course and seven local high schools take part.”

These courses, which are taught by high school teachers, can then have their results and progress monitored by Rutz and other members of the engineering distance learning group.

“We use distance learning so students in high school can know the difference between civil engineers and aerospace engineers,” Rutz said.

The program is still being fine-tuned, however.

“You know how we engineers are,” Rutz said. “We like to take our time and get it right.”

The College of Engineering also offers a Master of Engineering plan that, if completed successfully, will allow a student to graduate with both a master’s and bachelor’s degree in engineering within five years.

With new demands emerging in the workforce, Communiversity, UC’s continuing education program, is also forming courses to prepare employees.

Although it is not financially connected to the university, there are more than 4,000 people enrolled in classes, said Donna Burns, director of Communiversity.

The classes vary in scope as well, but there has been a recent interest in business and test preparation, Burns said.

Of the group enrolled, the largest age range is from 25 to 45 years old, representing approximately 75 percent of those who signed up. The program also serves many people with master’s degrees or higher, Burns said.

“Well, it really is across the board,” she said. “They want to spend their money wisely.”

Many classes are offered online in addition to the courses taught on campus or in other locations, such as an introduction to golf.

Despite the student body being comprised mostly of those who are not UC students or faculty, Communiversity provides classes for test preparation as well as new courses for those looking to boost their educational level, Burns said.

“We have different options depending on different peoples’ needs,” Burns said. “[UC] feels we are adding to the community engagement that’s so important.”

The College of Business is also thinking about the possibility of distance learning.

“We’re talking about implementing some online courses,” said Michael Hittle, associate director of the College of Business’ distance learning program. “But students are still required to attend classes.”

Distance learning in the College of Business is somewhat more of a complex situation, though, because conferencing and contact is involved in the curriculum, Hittle said.

“I imagine that we’ll start with after programs like finance and accounting for some majors,” Hittle said.

Some courses can be easily accessed and understood on the Internet, but creating a concrete curriculum in a field that constantly changes is another thing to take into consideration, Hittle said.

The actual distance learning program is only being talked about, however, and so details are still being worked out.

Whether it is through the Internet or other things like conference calling that the College of Business employs, distance learning is still being constantly implemented around the university and its branch campuses.

Although certain courses are aimed specifically for professionals looking for more versatility, distance learning may also allow students at UC to benefit due to the accessibility and purpose of classes such as an LSAT preparation course that Communiversity provides.

“They don’t have to be 25 [years old] to want to go to grad school,” she said. “Learning for learning’s sake is the best sense of higher education.”