Category Archives: New Online Programs

New Online Programs, Professional and Career Education, Technology Skills

Link: U Wisconsin Campuses Kick Off Online Master’s in Data Science

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Dian Schaffhauser, “U Wisconsin Campuses Kick Off Online Master’s in Data Science.” Campus Technology, July 2015.

University of Wisconsin-Extension is partnering with six small-to-medium size campuses in the Wisconsin system to offer a fully online master’s degree in data science.

Courses will cover statistics, programming, data warehouses, high performance computing, data mining, data visualization and communicating about data, prescriptive analytics and the ethics of data science, among other topics.

The degree is not dependent on state funding or budget allocation–it will be run off of student tuition dollars.

Active Learning, Course Design, Hybrid Learning, New Online Programs, Pedagogy

File: Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership

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University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership, April 2015 and updated in June 2015.

This report is part of a process to identify the range of what will constitute successful online leadership on America’s campuses—not merely what many might be doing now, but those standards, aspirations, and principles essential far into future. The intent is to provide information to help establish the full array of professional skills and services necessary to successfully support online learning, and to guide university leaders, faculty, students, and the public at large to embrace online education as integral to academe.

The Hallmarks of Excellence identify seven areas of concentration in online course and program leadership and development: Advocacy and Leadership Within the University; Entrepreneurial Initiatives; Faculty Support; Student Support; Digital Technology; External Advocacy and Leadership Beyond the University; and Professionalism. Each of these facets includes useful definitions and justifications, providing suggestions for specific implementation strategies, structures, and plans.

UPCEA’s Hallmarks of Excellence have been endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE), the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), Quality Matters (QM), and EDUCAUSE.

 

MOOCs, New Online Programs

Link: Arizona State and edX Will Offer an Online Freshman Year, Open to All

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Charles Huckabee, “Arizona State and edX Will Offer an Online Freshman Year, Open to All,” Chronicle of Higher Education, April 23, 2015.

This article introduces the Global Freshman Academy partnership of Arizona State University and edX that “reimagines the freshman year.” The program offers eight courses meeting the general education requirements of ASU. All courses are offered as MOOCs, with an option to take a final examination and pay a fee for credit.

Corporate and Industry Partnerships, New Online Programs

Link: Online Education Partnerships Increasingly Popular Among Employers

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Mathewson, Tara. “Online Education Partnerships Increasingly Popular Among Employers.” EducationDIVE, June 3, 2015.

This article is an overview of recent corporate efforts to provide online education options as part of a benefits package for employees. Key examples include Starbucks, Fiat Chrysler, and health insurance company Anthem. Links to other resources are included in this article.