Feb 11
22
University Expands Distance Learning through Online Continuing Education
The Continuing Education department at the University of Kansas (KU) currently offers about 120 online continuing education courses, out of 150 total courses. Now, the school is working on increasing the number of independent study courses that can be completed online.
“We’ve started looking at distance education and asking ourselves how we can organize it better?” Barbara Romzek, interim senior vice provost for academic affairs asked. “How can we facilitate the offering of more courses through online media?”
The online continuing education classes are for credit and allow students to learn through the same educational materials and methods that are used in the traditional classroom. Tuition rates and course fees are the same for online classes as their in-person counterparts, but students enrolled online are charged an additional $30 fee that is used to keep the program functioning and toward the development of new courses.
“A lot of students use them if they have to drop a course and they want to keep their load at the level to graduate in four [years],” Fred Pawlicki, director of Continuing Education said.
Standard courses at KU follow a traditional university semester schedule; courses run August through December or January through May. But conveniently, students can begin online continuing education courses at any time, as long as they are completed within six months of the start date. The system was designed to allow students to work at their own pace and convenience.
In recent years, KU has offered incentives for faculty members to reorganize their courses into an online format. Professors are awarded a stipend to develop online course content. Additionally, they are paid an extra $125 for each online student, “because it is considered overload on top of their normal teaching requirements.” Professors receive the full payment as long as enrolled students complete at least two-thirds of the course.
“We have, for the last couple of years, been encouraging faculty members to think about ways to convert their courses,” Romzek said.
In addition to online continuing education courses, KU is looking for ways to offer graduate degree programs online. Most likely, these programs will begin as a blended mix of in-person classroom instruction and online learning.
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