- Oregon State University Extended Campus
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Oregon State University Extended Campus (often referred to as OSU Ecampus) is the unit of Oregon State University (OSU) that develops and delivers many of OSU’s academic resources, degrees, courses and programs through alternative and off-campus course delivery methods, most prominently through online and distance delivery.[1][2]
Contents
History
The roots of OSU Extended Campus trace back to 1932, when the General Extension Division, a centralized state system, was founded. Early program delivery focused on the Portland metropolitan area, with the establishment of a Portland Center in 1946. Pioneering programs included off-campus credit and non-credit seminars, like the Thundering Seas craft program on the Oregon Coast.
In 1982, Liberal Studies courses were offered at Central Oregon Community College in Bend, Oregon, which paved the way for OSU’s first distance degree program in Liberal Studies. Early distance-delivered graduate degree programs included the development of the Ed.D. Education with an emphasis in Community College Leadership program in 1988.
In 1998, the unit, then known as Distance and Continuing Education, shifted its focus to community college partnerships and 2+2 programs, enabling students to start their first two years at an Oregon community college and complete their last two years at a distance through OSU. Early distance technologies included one-on-one correspondence courses, interactive television courses and videotaped courses.
In 2002, under the leadership of Dean Bill McCaughan, the unit was renamed OSU Extended Campus (Ecampus) and priority for course and program development shifted to online delivery. In 2003, OSU Summer Session administration, which had been housed within the continuing education unit at times in the past, joined the Extended Campus division.
With the creation of University Outreach and Engagement in 2007, both OSU Extended Campus and OSU Extension were aligned in Oregon State University's new outreach unit under Vice Provost Scott Reed.[3] [4]
Academics
OSU Extended Campus delivers all of OSU’s online and distance undergraduate and graduate degree programs, online graduate certificates and over 60 subjects of online courses. OSU also houses OSU Summer Session. Additionally, OSU Extended Campus offers noncredit courses and programs both online and from a distance.[5]
Credit
Online university courses
Each year, OSU Ecampus offers over 700 courses online in over 60 subjects.[6] During the 2007-08 academic year, OSU Extended Campus developed 77 new online courses.[7]
Online and distance courses offered through Extended Campus are taught by OSU’s faculty and maintain requirements equal to OSU’s on-campus courses. Most Extended Campus online courses are delivered online through the Blackboard (Bb) Learning Portal System, which requires a user login and password to access the course.[8]
Online degrees and programs
All of OSU Ecampus undergraduate and graduate degree programs are accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and all credit-based online degree programs and courses appear the same as on-campus degrees and courses on a student’s OSU transcript.[9] All Ecampus graduates receive the same OSU diplomas as campus-based students.[10] All students, both Oregon resident and non-resident, pay the same tuition for Ecampus courses.[11]
Undergraduate programs
Currently, OSU Ecampus offers nine undergraduate degrees that can be completed online:
- General Agriculture
- General Anthropology
- Economics
- Environmental Sciences
- Fisheries & Wildlife
- General Horticulture
- Liberal Studies
- Natural Resources
- Political Science
- Women Studies[12]
Additionally, Ecampus offers 14 undergraduate minors online to supplement any of the online undergraduate degrees:
- Anthropology
- Business & Entrepreneurship
- Chemistry
- Environmental Sciences
- Fisheries & Wildlife
- German
- Natural Resources
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Resource Economics
- Sociology
- U.S. History
- Women Studies
- Writing[13]
Graduate
Education
Through a partnership with OSU’s College of Education, OSU Extended Campus offers the following graduate degree programs through online and distance delivery:
Adult Education and Higher Education Leadership
- Ed.M. Adult Education-Concentration in Organization and Human Resource Education
- Ph.D. / Ed.D. Education – Emphasis in Community College Leadership
Both of these programs are referred to as “hybrid” programs, utilizing on-site weekend-long sessions as well as online course techniques.[14]
Teacher and Counselor Education
- Ed.M. Education – delivered online
- M.A.T. in Early Childhood / Elementary Education – includes distance programs in Portland or Salem, Oregon and a two-year part-time program in Corvallis, Oregon
- Ph.D. in Counseling – hybrid on-site/online format
- Continuing Teaching Licensure - hybrid on-site/online format
- ESOL/Bilingual Endorsement – Online with on-site internship requirement
- Discrimination and the Oregon Educator – Independent study[15]
Science and Mathematics Education
OSU’s College of Science offers two graduate degrees online through OSU Ecampus:
- M.S. Science and Mathematics Education with an emphasis in Free-Choice Learning – This degree option is geared toward educators and professionals who work in free-choice learning arenas, such as museums, zoos and national parks.
- M.S. Science and Mathematics Education with an emphasis in School-Based education – This degree option is geared toward science and mathematics educators wishing to pursue advanced knowledge and expertise in the classroom setting.[16]
Radiation Health Physics
The OSU Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics through OSU Ecampus offer the following graduate degrees online:
- M.S. Radiation Health Physics
- M.H.P. Master of Health Physics[17]
GetEducated.com ranked OSU Ecampus' Radiation Health Physics programs among its Top 28 Ranked Best Buys under $21,000.[18]
Natural Resources
OSU Extended Campus currently offers the following graduate degree online:
- M.S. Natural Resources
Graduate certificates
OSU Extended Campus offers the following graduate certificates online:
- Fisheries Management
- GIScience
- Sustainable Natural Resources
- Water Conflict Management and Transformation
- Management for Science Professionals[19]
Other Ecampus highlights
Students who attend a community college who participate in the OSU Degree Partnership Program (DPP) can attend classes (including OSU Ecampus online courses) at both schools, combine credits for financial aid eligibility, and have the option of using campus facilities and services at both schools.[20] OSU Ecampus also delivers chemistry course sequences online at the 100-, 300- and 400-levels.[21] Currently, OSU Ecampus offers the only General Chemistry sequence with labs online. All the requirements for CH 121, 122 and 123 can now be completed online, including the lab work.[22]
OSU Summer Session
OSU Extended Campus maintains and manages OSU Summer Session during the summer term every year.[23] Summer Session offers courses both online and on-site between June and September. On-site courses are offered in various sessions from one-week sessions to 11-week sessions.[24] All students pay Oregon resident in-state tuition prices during OSU Summer Session.[25] During OSU Summer Session, students have the opportunity to participate in educational experiences that are offered during the summer months, including courses and programs at the Hatfield Marine Science Center on the coast in Newport, Oregon.[26][27] During Summer Session 2009, there was a 5.8 percent enrollment increase from the previous year, and OSU Summer Session has seen a 28 percent total increase in enrollment from 2003 to 2009.[28][29]
Noncredit
The Workforce and Noncredit unit of OSU Extended Campus offers the following programs for professional development and personal enrichment:
- OSU Master Gardener Online: Ecampus delivers the OSU Master Gardener basic training course online through a partnership with OSU Extension. The program includes an option to complete additional on-site volunteer hours at a local county Extension office to earn an OSU Master Gardener badge.[30]
- Mastery of Aging Well: In partnership with AARP, OSU Extended Campus has designed an online program consisting of five modules for anyone interested in learning practical, research-based solutions to many common problems associated with aging.
- Phytophthora Online Course Training for Nursery Growers: The modules of this course are free for viewing. It is intended to educate nursery employees on the plant disease Phytophthora, the cause of Sudden Oak Death, and prevention strategies in a commercial nursery.[31]
- Wastewater Installer Online: Introductory Soils for On-site Waste water Practitioners course provides the basic principles of soil science needed to comprehend the successful utilization of soil as a component in on-site waste water system.
- Management and HR Skills for Pharmacists
- Childhood Food Insecurity
- QuickSkills: online short skills courses[32]
People
Students
OSU Extended Campus serves students who include working professionals, stay-at-home parents, community college students, those who don’t live near a four-year university and individuals who want to take a college course.[33] Ecampus has served students in all 50 states, Canada, and many foreign countries.[34] Ecampus also serves many students in the military. Military personnel may qualify for up to 45 credit hours for military education and Ecampus also offers G.I. Bill and Tuition Assistance opportunities.[35]
This past spring quarter, more than 4,000 students were enrolled in OSU Extended Campus (Ecampus) online courses, a 24 percent jump from spring quarter 2009.
Alumni
In 2009-10, Ecampus graduated a record 210 students from their online and distance degree programs. There were 131 graduates in 2007-08, and 83 in 2007-06.
Faculty
OSU Ecampus courses are taught by OSU faculty members.[36] Over 700 faculty and instructors teach for Extended Campus throughout the year.[37] OSU Ecampus instructors shared their best-practices and online course delivery methods with the OSU community at the first annual Ecampus Faculty Forum in May 2008. The Faculty Forum allowed those who develop and teach classes online to answer questions and share teaching techniques with OSU faculty, staff and instructors.[38]
Awards and recognition
In 2007 Oregon State University was accepted into the Natural Resources Distance Learning Consortium. Students from the consortium's other participating universities and federal agency members have access to OSU's online graduate natural resources courses.[39][40]
OSU Extended Campus has also received awards from the University Continuing Education Association since 2002. Some of them include:
- March 2009: The Ecampus marketing team was the recipient of five awards at the University Continuing Education Association marketing an Publication conference. Gold awards were given for the OSU Summer Session 2008 Web site, a YouTube commercial for Ecampus online chemistry courses and for the marketing campaign for the Ecampus online chemistry courses and labs. Silver awards were given to the OSU Summer Session 2008 e-newsletter and a media release on Spanish-language Phytophthora training courses for nursery growers.
- April 2007: Bill McCaughan, who retired as dean of Extended Campus in December 2006, was awarded the Walton S. Bittner Citation for outstanding service to the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA).
- April 2007: OSU Extended Campus was honored with the "Distance Learning Non-Credit Course Award" for the online course Human Resource Skills for Pharmacists, a collaboration with OSU's College of Pharmacy.
- April 2007: OSU Extended Campus won three marketing/publication awards.
- March 2005: OSU Ecampus graduate Christine Roberts was selected to receive the National Outstanding Continuing Education Student Award.
The OSU Ecampus Natural Resources online degree program won a national award for Excellence in Distance Education in 2003 and 2002 from ADEC, the American Distance Education Consortium [1].
References
- ^ OSU Ecampus About Us
- ^ OSU Ecampus All Degrees and Programs
- ^ OSU Ecampus History
- ^ OSU News and Communication Services "New Alignment Brings OSU Extension, Extended Campus Closer Together"
- ^ OSU Ecampus About Us
- ^ OSU Ecampus About Us
- ^ OSU Annual Campus Report 2007-08
- ^ OSU Ecampus Course Demo
- ^ OSU Ecampus We're accredited
- ^ OSU Ecampus About Us
- ^ OSU Ecampus FAQs
- ^ OSU Ecampus All Degrees and Programs
- ^ OSU Ecampus Undergraduate Minors Online
- ^ OSU Ecampus Adult Education and Higher Education Leadership
- ^ OSU Ecampus Teacher & Counselor Education
- ^ OSU Ecampus Science & Mathematics Education
- ^ OSU Ecampus Radiation Health Physics
- ^ Best Buys Engineering – GetEducated.com
- ^ OSU Ecampus All Degrees and Programs
- ^ OSU Ecampus: Degree Partnership Program
- ^ OSU Ecampus Online Chemistry and Lab Courses
- ^ The Daily Barometer "Ecampus leaps ahead with firsts"
- ^ OSU Ecampus About Us
- ^ OSU Summer Session Summer Calendar
- ^ OSU Summer Session Tuition & Deadlines
- ^ OSU Summer Session Hatfield Marine Science Center Summer Programs
- ^ OSU Summer Session Field Tours and Studies
- ^ Corvallis Gazette Times "Summer session numbers heat up"
- ^ Oregon State University Enrollment Summary Summer 2008
- ^ OSU Ecampus OSU Master Gardener Online
- ^ OSU Ecampus Phytophthora: Training for Nursery Growers
- ^ OSU Ecampus Workforce & Noncredit
- ^ OSU Ecampus Students
- ^ OSU Ecampus FAQs
- ^ OSU Ecampus Online Learning for Military Personnel
- ^ OSU Ecampus We're accredited
- ^ OSU Ecampus Faculty & Staff
- ^ OSU Ecampus Faculty E-News "Spring Faculty Forum"
- ^ The Natural Resources Distance Learning Consortium
- ^ OSU Ecampus In the News "OSU Spreading Natural Resources Nationwide Through Online Consortium"
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