See and Hear from UMass Online Students at Recent Graduation Ceremonies
Posted on June 18, 2013 by Som Seng | Leave a Comment
This is a wonderful time of year for most no matter where they are or what they are doing. But perhaps no time or place can be more memorable and important than a spring graduation ceremony for its marking of a major life achievement. That probably explains why a growing number of UMass’ online students find a way to ‘go traditional’ for a day and join their colleagues on campus to acknowledge an achievement that carries life- and career-changing implications.
Turns out, our own Daniel Peikin, who is our Marketing and Customer Support Coordinator, is also a skilled videographer and this year he volunteered to visit a number of campus graduation ceremonies and capture the thoughts and feelings of online students accepting their degrees. Take a minute to view Dan’s footage, at least three takeaways become immediately apparent. One, the happiness among these students is indistinguishable from that of traditional students. Two, UMass delivered and then some against these students’ educational expectations for quality. And, three, learning online was every bit as satisfying, challenging and rewarding.
Click the links below to view the videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GVJCSSCms0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAnMArPAcZs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C47LRFccgZg
Tags: Online Learning, UMass Alumni, UMass Amherst, UMassOnline, VidCastsPermalink | Trackback |
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Beyond the Stats of Mental Health Month
Posted on May 28, 2013 by Som Seng | Leave a Comment
It first occurred 64 years ago. That’s when, in 1949, the month of May was first officially designated as Mental Health Month. This year, as this Department of Health and Human Services site notes, the focus in on the mental health of young people. Some of the stats are staggering: An estimated 22.1 percent of Americans ages 18 and older-about 1 in 5 adults-suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.1 Mental disorders can also affect children. According to the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), mental health problems affect one in five young people. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find alarming national and global mental health projections like this from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA): The World Health Organization has identified mental illness as a growing cause of disability worldwide and predicts that in the future, mental illness—specifically depression—will be the the top cause of disability… In response to this trend, as part of AOTA’s Centennial Vision, we have identified mental health as a vital practice area for 21st century practice. Increasing emphasis will be placed on mental health treatment and prevention services for children, youth, the aging, and those with severe and persistent mental illness.
The point is, there is no substitute for awareness, but it must be matched by treatment availability and options and therein lies a potential problem. Here’s just one example from U.S. News & World Report in which the focus is on mental health counselors alone: In 2010, there were 120,300 mental health counselors employed, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). With psychiatrists and psychologists charging higher rates for therapy, insurance companies are directing patients toward the affordable alternative of mental health counselors. That trend will contribute to employment in the field growing by 36 percent over the next decade. By 2020, 43,600 new positions will need to be filled.
Can educators and students interested in this field keep pace? Well, there’s no doubt that health education is becoming a top priority at universities and colleges nationwide. Everyone sees the crunch coming ahead and UMass isn’t alone in this view and in the development of timely, practical program offerings. For us, at least, these also include online and blended learning options which can be especially useful for working professionals wishing to advance or change careers while working. If the need and the growth potential in a mental health occupation interests you, one place to start your search for educational options is here.
Tags: Blended Learning, Online Learning, UMassOnlinePermalink | Trackback |
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UMassOnline Founder and Former UMass President Jack Wilson on “Innovation in an Era of Disruptive Change”
Posted on February 15, 2013 by Som Seng | Leave a Comment
Dr. Wallace E. Boston is President and Chief Executive Officer of American Public University System (APUS) and its parent company, American Public Education, Inc. In a recent blog post, he filed a report about a University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (GSE) conference entitled “Innovation in an Era of Disruptive Change.” At this forum, attendees heard from Dr. Jack Wilson, President Emeritus of the University of Massachusetts, who spoke on the topic: “Evolution or Revolution: Everyone Wants Universities to Change but Exactly How is Not so Clear.”
Dr. Boston reports the following: Dr. Wilson discussed his experience with online education in the early days of establishing UMass Online [sic]. He also discussed the online initiatives announced and funded by universities in the late 1990’s to include Columbia’s venture with Cardean, Fathom, Open University’s U.S. venture, etc. The great majority of those collaborations folded in a few years. UMass Online [sic] and the University of Maryland University College are among a handful that survived because they developed a business model that worked. Dr. Wilson’s point to the group was that MOOC’s (Massively Open Online Courses) appear to be the rage and there are initiatives with EdX, Coursera, and Udacity to name a few, but none of those companies have developed a long term business model at this point in time. This, according to Dr. Wilson, makes predicting their ability to survive and thrive more difficult.
You can see Dr. Boston’s complete blog post at this link.
Tags: Emerging Technology, Online Learning, Tools and Technology, UMassOnlinePermalink | Trackback |
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A Massive OOps Calamity
Posted on February 15, 2013 by Som Seng | Leave a Comment
A planned, tuition-free, six-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) intended to reach more than 40,000 students recently unraveled in six days, the reasons for which are painfully detailed in a report from The Washington Post. But as if this online disaster were not bad enough in its own right, guess what the course was intended to be all about? Ready? “Fundamentals of Online Education: Planning and Application.” That’s right! It was a program designed to teach the fundamentals of how to create an online course.
The Post article features a first-hand account of the mercifully terminated program by one of the enrolled students, Jill Barshay. But she concludes her account with this statement: The problem is that almost anyone can set up an online course and thousands of people will enroll. Unfortunately, there’s no guide to tell you who’s good and who isn’t.
Well, taking online courses from an established, accredited provider with a proven track record in online design, development, and delivery would tend to be a good first step, yes? Keeping in mind the old saying “you get what you pay for” may be a good bet, too? This isn’t intended to bash MOOCs or the “tuition free” idea du jour among the more disruptive forces in higher education these days. The point is this: people subjected to poor online quality on their first introduction to distance learning are not likely to return anytime soon and this is bad for any form, any type, any sized program at any cost.
You can see the whole story, courtesy of The Washington Post, here.
Tags: Online Learning, Tools and Technology, UMassOnlinePermalink | Trackback |
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