University of Maryland University College

Infobox University
name=University of Maryland
University College


motto=
established=1947
type=Public
president=Susan C. Aldridge
city=Adelphi
state=Maryland
country=United States
undergrad=71,811 [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/factsheet-07.shtml]
postgrad=14,350 [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/factsheet-07.shtml]
total=86,161 [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/factsheet-07.shtml]
faculty=3,800
campus=53 locations [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/ataglance.shtml]
website= [http://www.umuc.edu www.umuc.edu]

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC), located in the unincorporated community of Adelphi in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Serving over 90,000 students worldwide, it is the second-largest 4-year public university in Maryland [http://www.umuc.edu/events/press/news259.shtml] and one of the largest distance learning universities [http://chronicle.com/jobs/profiles/1616.htm] . The University offers 120 academic programs in-class and online, including bachelors, masters, and doctoral as well as certificate degrees [http://www.umsa.umd.edu/institutions/Profile.php?Inst=UMUC] . UMUC is part of the University System of Maryland, which includes eleven public universities [http://www.umsa.umd.edu/institutions/Profile.php?Inst=UMUC] .

History

UMUC is an outgrowth of the University of Maryland's evening program for adults that began in the 1920s. In 1947, the College of Special and Continuation Studies (CSCS) was established [http://www.umuc.edu/events/press/news259.shtml] . In 1959, The CSCS became the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). In 1970, UMUC became an independent institution, but in 1988, it became a part of the University System of Maryland [http://www.umuc.edu/events/press/news259.shtml] .

UMUC formerly had an international campus in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany (near Stuttgart) until 2001. It also ran a 2-year [http://www.munichcampus.org/home.php residential campus] in Munich, Germany from 1950 to 1992, which then moved to Augsburg, Germany from 1993 to 1994, and then to Mannheim, Germany in 1995 until it finally closed in 2005. The residential campus offered a two-year Associates degree and served mainly high school graduate children of U.S. military and government personnel stationed in Europe.

UMUC offers courses on over 150 military installations at locations throughout Europe, and the Middle East, as well as in Asia [http://www.umuc.edu/events/press/news259.shtml] . In 2004, UMUC shared the ICDE Prize of Excellence from the International Council for Open and Distance Education [http://www.icde.org/] . In FY 2007, UMUC ’s overseas divisions offered on site classes in 22 countries throughout the world, enrolling 16,908 and 21,554 individual students, respectively through its Asia and Europe divisions, including the Middle East [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/factsheets.shtml] .

Name

To American ears, the words "university" and "college" may sound synonymous, and a "University College" would be redundant. Among the collegiate universities of Europe, however, the practice of giving one college in the university the name "University College" is not uncommon. In England, for example, one of the 39 colleges of the University of Oxford is called University College. UMUC is a college in the traditional American sense of the word, albeit one associated with a university. Hence, "University College." The "University of Maryland" prefix indicates the historical entity to which the college originally belonged. It is no longer affiliated directly with the University of Maryland, College Park but rather it is considered a separate co-equal institution within the University System of Maryland.

Academic & Degree programs

Courses are delivered in traditional classroom settings, as well as online. Even before the advent of online education via the Internet, UMUC was a distance education pioneer and offered distance learning via dial-up (using WebTycho) then later the Internet as well as television and correspondence courses. Today, UMUC is one of the largest public providers of online higher education in the nation.

Colleges & schools

*School of Undergraduate Studies
*Graduate School of Management & Technology

Undergraduate

The School of Undergraduate Studies offers 23 bachelor's degree programs and 43 undergraduate certificates, which are awarded in business management, computers/information technology, communications, criminal justice/legal studies, and social sciences. [http://www.umuc.edu/prog/ugp/ugp.shtml] Undergraduate students can earn credit through classroom-based and online courses or through the Cooperative Education and Prior Learning programs. The Undergraduate program serves as a continuation of the Community Colleges of Maryland and elsewhere. The Cooperative Education and Prior Learning programs offer an escalated degree option, accepted by UMUC as credit towards a degree at UMUC, but are not recognized by other 4 year institutions as accredited programs and as such are not transferable to other organizations.

Graduate

The Graduate School of Management & Technology offers 18 master's degree programs, 38 graduate certificates, and a Doctor of Management. [http://www.umuc.edu/prog/gsmt/gsmthome.shtml] Most graduate programs are available in both classroom and online formats. Several master's degrees are available in an accelerated Executive format.

Campus & facilities

Headquarters/Main campus

UMUC has its headquarters/main campus in Adelphi, Maryland, near the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. Until late 2000, UMUC's headquarters was listed in College Park, Maryland. In an attempt to have its own identity and move away from the common notion of UMUC being the "Night School," its address was changed to Adelphi, Maryland (which borders College Park). The address changed with the Postal Service (there was no physical move). The marketing decision was just one of many to establish UMUC as one of the largest distance-education centers, with over 100,000 students enrolled worldwide.

Academic buildings

*Student & Faculty Services Center (SFSC)
*Inn & Conference Center (ICC)

In Spring 2009, UMUC plans to relocate its headquarters and most its of faculty and staff to 1616 McCormick Avenue, Largo, Maryland, which was purchased for $38 million [http://www.umuc.edu/events/press/news281.shtml] .

atellite campuses

UMUC operates satellite campuses across the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, throughout Maryland, as well as in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Baltimore-Washington

In the greater Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, daytime, evening and weekend classes are held at 21 locations, including holding many of its classes at the University of Maryland, College Park [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/ataglance.shtml] . The satellite campuses offer varying academic services, including advising, computing, and library facilities (extensive library services are available to distance education students via the University's [http://www.umuc.edu/library Information and Library Services] department).

Maryland

UMUC operates a facilitates in Dorsey, Maryland adjacent to the Dorsey MARC Train Station [http://www.umuc.edu/locate/dorseystation.shtml] . In partnership with Maryland community colleges and other University System of Maryland institutions, UMUC offers courses and degree programs at several higher education centers throughout the state. In conjunction with the College of Southern Maryland, it operates the Waldorf Center for Higher Education in Waldorf, Maryland [http://www.waldorfcenter.org/] . A consortium of universities led by Anne Arundel Community College, including UMUC, operates a higher education center adjacent to Arundel Mills mall in Hanover, Maryland [http://www.aacc.edu/arundelmills/] . In addition, the University offers courses at the Universities at Shady Grove and University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, which are part of the University System of Maryland.

Worldwide

In Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, UMUC offers courses on military bases for service members, contractors, Federal employees, and their families [http://www.umuc.edu/locate/index.shtml] . In addition to distance learning via the Web, the university offers on-site, instructor-led classes at 150 overseas US military bases in 22 countries throughout the world [http://www.umuc.edu/events/press/news259.shtml] . Overseas instruction is coordinated through its [http://www.ed.umuc.edu European] , which covers USCENTCOM installations in the Middle East, and [http://www.asia.umuc.edu Asian] Divisions. UMUC divisional headquarters are located in Heidelberg, Germany near United States Army Garrison Heidelberg and on Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan, respectively [https://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/contact.php] [http://www.asia.umuc.edu/contacts.cfm] .

tudents

UMUC specializes in distance learning for adult, non-traditional students in Maryland, across the country, and around the world by operating satellite campuses and offering online instruction [http://www.umuc.edu/gen/mission.shtml] . More specifically, the university educates 60,000 [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/ataglance.shtml] active-duty service members at over twenty locations worldwide [http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/Profile.php?Inst=UMUC] . In fall 2007, 19,581 Marylanders attended UMUC [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/ataglance.shtml] . In FY2007, about two-thirds of all UMUC students are enrolled online [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/factsheet-07.shtml] .

Profile

About three quarters of the undergraduate students attend part-time [http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/items/11644/@@Index_SB.html] . Over ninety-two percent of UMUC students are employed full-time [http://www.gradprofiles.com/umucmanage.html] . The majority of undergraduate students are female [http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/items/11644/@@Index_SB.html] . The median age of stateside undergraduate students is 31 [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/ataglance.shtml] . Almost two-thirds of the graduate MBA students are married, half are female, and over a third are minorities [http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/04/part_time_profiles/marylanduc.htm] . Over a third of UMUC's stateside students were African-American, and this minority group earned over a third of the degrees awarded by the university [http://www.umuc.edu/ip/ataglance.shtml] .

References

External links

* [http://www.umuc.edu/ Official Website]
* [http://www.umuc.edu/aboutus.shtml USM Profile]
* [http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/visitor/college/bal-hl-univcollege,0,7805099.story Baltimore Sun Profile]