#13 Collegian T he Cameron University
www.aggiecentral.com
Monday, February 9, 2015
Volume 92 Issue 2
Online program makes affordable colleges list Jacob Jardel
online degree programs. “We’re designed as a university to Assistant Manager Editor focus on providing quality education @JJardel_Writing so that our students can effectively Cameron University recently compete with students at any degree ranked 13th in BestColleges.com’s they get from any place in the list of the most affordable four-year world,” Burgess said. online degree programs. Cameron has almost 1600 Cameron placed the highest of students enrolled in at least one any Oklahoma school on the list of online course this semester and 50 undergraduate programs, which another 200 enrolled in a hybrid is based on tuition rates for 12 credit course, which mixes online and hours of online study. classroom components. Distance According to Dr. Sylvia Burgess, Learning Coordinator Lisa Restivo associate vice president of academic noted the diversity of those enrolled affairs, affordability is not the only in online courses. thing that sets Cameron apart from “It’s virtually everyone,” she other online programs. She says said. “You do have some who are program improvements are made stationed overseas, or a mother who daily. would rather take online courses and The motivation to keep these not pay daycare for their children. improvements going has come in But then we have students who take part from the makeup of other both face-to-face and online courses
for various reasons.” Burgess added that analytics shows a surprising trend in the makeup of online courses. “Our data shows that the vast majority of those who take online courses are on-campus residential students,” she said, “which always stuns us.” According to her, the flexibility of the online programs has provided non-traditional and working students with assistance in keeping on track with their degrees. “The benefit to those students is that it allows them the flexibility to work at midnight and work on weekends,” Burgess said. “They can still move steadily toward getting their university degrees.” When combined with the convenience of not taking up physical classroom space, this
assistance embodies what Restivo considers one of the online program’s most vital goals. “That’s the biggest thing – how we’re going to try to expand for ITV and to help those [students] graduate and to pick up our retention that way,” Restivo said. These combined resources exhibit the changes made to the online programs since the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Cameron first started offering online courses. According to Burgess, these factors have also contributed to the population growth of online classes. “In the early 2000s, we had somewhere around 400 or 500 students at any given time taking online courses,” Burgess said, “and we had a larger drop rate back then because they weren’t prepared for it. “As technology developed,
students were much more prepared for what happens in the online environment, and it’s no longer unusual to them. That’s a big reason why the enrollment is growing.” The online courses and programs continue to expand, according to Burgess and Restivo, especially when it comes to expanding tools to help students and instructors work better in real time and adapting the curriculum to the national standards of the Quality Matters rubric. “All of the new courses being developed will comply with the Quality Matters rubric, and we will be moving all of our courses to compliance with the Quality Matters rubric,” Burgess said, “which is extraordinary to meet student needs to provide information and communication tools.”
FISTS OF FURY
To find out how Lawton MMA fighters did on Jan. 31, see Page 8 Photo by Krista Pylant
Small changes for a big difference Marie Bagwell
there,” Naifeh said. “So if you have an entire bag full Staff Writer of plastic bottles but then In keeping with this year’s someone comes around and puts pizza in it, that entire sustainability festival theme, Cameron University students, bag is now wasted.” Naifeh said one possible faculty and staff could soon solution would be for the see changes in sustainability Go Green Committee to practices on campus with the start recycling education. establishment of the new Go He believes seminars and Green Committee. workshops would be the best Several buildings around campus already have recycling route to educate students, faculty and staff of recycling receptacles for cans, paper practices. and plastic. But Dean The Go Green Committee of Student Services and would also provide an member of the Go Green avenue for different ideas recommendation committee Zeak Naifeh said one of sustainability practices problem with the current from students, faculty and recycling is they are not used staff. Naifeh said those who properly. wish to contribute ideas to “The problem is when the committee would do so someone put other trash in by contacting anyone on the
committee to make their suggestions. Current Chair of Faculty Senate, Dr. Sarah Janda, said the Go Green Committee has been a work in progress since 2009. Janda said one of the responsibilities of a standing Go Green Committee would be deciding who is responsible for all of the programs, including who would be responsible for collecting recycling. With the festival year being sustainability and the Go Green recommendation committee being wellorganized and consisting of members from the Student Government Association, Physical Facilities, Physical Plant and the Science
Photo by Charlene Belew
Department, Janda is optimistic that President John MacArthur will approve a standing committee. Janda said she feels the Go Green Committee is important “because over
the last several years there has certainly been a move, whether for budgetary or environmental reasons, or both, to find ways to conserve, to improve recycling policies to make campus
greener. “I think they could get quite a bit done and have a very positive impact on the campus… I’d be very happy to see it come to fruition.” Janda said.
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