University lauded by U.S. News and World Report for its online degree program.
As national online programs have grown, so has the University’s fully accredited Online Degree Completion Program, administered though the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education (DGCE) department.
As a matter of fact, Westfield State has been ranked as one of four Honor Roll schools named to U.S. News & World Report’s first-ever edition of Top Online Education Program rankings. Its online bachelor’s degree completion programs were ranked in three different categories: faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, and teaching practices and student engagement.
President Evan S. Dobelle says, “To be ranked as only one of four institutions in the country by U.S. News & World Report on its Honor Roll, along with the University of Florida, Pace University in New York and Florida Institute of Technology, is extraordinary. To be placed as Number One for Faculty and Training throughout the country is an enormous compliment to our professors and our professional staff.”
Westfield State’s unique “Web Camp” can be credited with preparing professors and staff to maximize online teaching skills. Sponsored through the Center for Instructional Technology, the camp prepares faculty for online teaching by providing a step-by-step program that teaches them how to adapt their face-based courses for an online presentation.
The camp covers topics such as best practices from University faculty who are teaching online; and course design and management, and understanding and using assessment tools – along with many other useful resources to create engaging high-quality online learning environments for our students.
The Center for Instructional Technology is also a support resource for students. The success of Westfield State’s online degree programs is reflected in its steadily growing retention rates: in 2010, that rate was at 80 percent and, in 2012, it increased to 88 percent.
Students begin with Westfield State and finish with Westfield State.
Recently, there has been much attention paid in the media to the fact that students with a bachelor’s degree can earn substantially more over their lifetime than those with only a high school diploma.
This is particularly true when the economy is depressed and the media reports that unemployment rates for workers without a college education are almost twice that of college graduates.
It is not surprising that students pursuing a bachelor’s degree online are usually motivated by careers — either advancing in their current field or changing careers altogether. Westfield State offers online degree completion programs in business, sociology, history, criminal justice, liberal studies and psychology and minors in art, management, psychology and sociology.
Westfield State is responding to today’s increasing demand for higher education to accommodate students with the many distractions that sometimes prohibit further schooling.
“Many of our online students are employed and from the eastern part of Massachusetts, so they aren’t able to get to campus,” Meaghan Arena, associate dean in the DGCE, says, noting that the convenience of online learning meshes seamlessly with the busy lives of students.
“Online, students can study on their own time schedule, from anywhere,” Arena says, “Even from Europe. We have had international inquiries that are very exciting. Our classes do not require students to be online at specific times, so varying international time zones are easily accommodated, allowing for maximum learning time flexibility.”
While the online program is designed for students who have completed an associate’s degree, students who have earned college credits may also apply. The DGCE staff is equipped to answer all questions and advise students at every turn.
Arena says, “We have an outreach specialist right here in the DGCE office. We can facilitate a student’s enrollment to the program, transfers and arrange for them to meet with department heads and faculty.”
In addition, the DGCE has recently launched an online Orientation Program specifically for online students. “We try to make a coordinated effort here in DGCE and throughout the campus to make students comfortable and feel supported as they go through the program,” says Arena.
Students have many reasons to consider an online degree program: cost-friendly courses, limited time due to work and family commitments or a strong desire to advance their career.
Kimberly Tobin, dean of DGCE says, “President Dobelle has prioritized online education, and we are definitely ahead of the curve.
“People are becoming more technologically comfortable and understand how online classrooms can mimic an in-person experience, and we are seeing tremendous growth and increasing respect from employers for student outcomes.”
