Monday, July 25, 2005
Indiana celebrates Distance Education Week August 1-5
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When Pamela Isbell of Orlando, Florida, was awarded a Master of Science in Nursing in May, she was in Evansville to attend Commencement at Roberts Stadium. It was Isbell’s first trip to Evansville and to the University of Southern Indiana campus. She completed the advanced degree through distance education. Online education opens the door to higher education for individuals who may be tied to nonstandard schedules by family responsibilities and employment. Isbell is a staff nurse in the emergency department at Orlando Regional Medical Center, central Florida’s only level one trauma center. She works 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. three days a week, is the mother of a preschooler, and teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Valencia Community College in Orlando. Distance education extends the reach of traditional educational approaches by allowing students to complete classes from a location physically removed from the teacher. It utilizes advanced technology — including videoconferencing, live Web-based streaming via the Internet, multimedia applications, and videotaped and live televised broadcasts — to deliver college courses to students. Isbell completed the nurse educator track of the MSN program offered by USI’s College of Nursing and Health Professions. She learned about the program through a nursing magazine. “I investigated it and liked what I saw,” Isbell said. She entered the program in August 2002 and completed requirements for the master’s degree in December 2004. ”USI and the faculty were awesome throughout my experience,” Isbell said. “I didn't feel like I was a thousand miles away. I felt like I was picking up a phone and calling a neighbor. They worked with me through my pregnancy. I planned on being pregnant but not on perpetual morning sickness.” Isbell took a leave for fall semester 2003 before her son was delivered and picked up her studies again in January 2004. She completed clinical requirements for the master’s program at the hospital where she is employed. During her first year in the program, Isbell was in Hawaii for three weeks. I wrote papers and took an exam from Honolulu,” she said. “I had a paper due each week because I was in three classes.” Isbell praised the rigor of the USI program. “You have an hour to take an exam online. You have to know the material,” she said. Isbell earned an undergraduate degree in nursing from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997. Since she did not attend the graduation ceremony at that time, coming to USI Commencement was especially important to her. She enjoyed meeting USI faculty with whom she had studied through her online work, including Dr. Nadine Coudret, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, who was “very helpful and very inspirational,” and Dr. Ann White, assistant dean for nursing, who had been a mentor. Paula Guenther of Waycross, Georgia, is another MSN student who attended USI’s once-a-year Commencement in May. She finished requirements in the acute care nurse practitioner track of the MSN program in July. She said the online aspect of the USI program was important to her because she was able to maintain her full-time work status while advancing her education. Graduate programs available closer to her home required physical attendance and included a class schedule that might have limited her ability to work full time. Guenther said, “It is important to know, however, that one has to be a self-starter and able to study and work well independently in order to be successful at distance education. ” Before beginning her nurse practitioner internship. Guenther worked at Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, a facility affiliated with the University of Florida. She completed the final rotation in the internship at the Savannah Neurological Institute in Waycross. Guenther said, “Before starting the online program, I had some concerns about my lack of computer skills and, therefore, my ability to take online classes. Thankfully, the distance learning technology was not difficult to use. I was able to view class lectures and even participate by e-mailing my questions to the instructor during class. My instructors have always been readily available by phone and e-mail so despite the fact that I live hundreds of miles away from Evansville, Indiana, l have always felt connected to the class. “Distance education allowed me a lot of flexibility in my schedule, and as a working mother of two small kids, time is everything.” Governor Mitch Daniels has declared the week of August 1-5 as Distance Education Week in Indiana to recognize the state’s distance educators and pay tribute to the thousands of students utilizing these opportunities. Statewide, approximately 28,000 individuals pursue college courses through distance education. Fifty-nine community learning centers throughout the state, along with partners including Indiana colleges, universities, the Indiana College Network, and other educational organizations are observing the week. USI offers seven academic degree programs (bachelor’s programs in health services, nursing, and radiologic and imaging services; master’s programs in health administration, nursing, occupational therapy, and social work) via distance education. Some have on-campus meeting requirements or have location restrictions. Additionally, some distance education courses are part of the University Core Curriculum, and some are popular electives that are now available in a more flexible format. In spring 2005, USI offered 96 different distance education courses. Courses in distance education are available through each of USI’s five colleges. In fall 2004 and spring 2005 semesters, 1,238 students completed at least one course by distance education. Dr. Saxon Reasons, manager of instructional technology services, said, “We see increases in enrollment when popular core curriculum or elective courses are developed for distance delivery. Liberal arts courses, in particular, attract students who need to fulfill the course requirement but also need additional flexibility. Distance education offers a welcome solution for students who live far from campus, are homebound because of family responsibilities or health concerns, or work during times that on-campus courses are offered. And since USI is a member of the Indiana College Network, we serve students statewide. For example, a Ball State student may enroll in one of our distance courses, or a USI student may enroll in one of theirs.” The USI College of Nursing and Health Professions, which markets its degree programs nationwide, has had students enrolled from 33 states and from Canada and India. The College of Nursing and Health Professions also offers via distance education a number of certificate programs which allow health professionals the opportunity to complete continuing education requirements. Five hundred individuals completed these courses in the 2004-05 academic year. |
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