The College at Brockport is introducing six new graduate programs, following a trend to move more courses online.
One certificate program in aging students will be in a hybrid format, meaning some in-class instruction and some online, while the other five programs will be primarily online. Starting the fall, Brockport will offer graduate programs in business administration, community health education, teaching English to non-English speakers, family nurse practitioner, and poverty studies. Some programs are master’s levels, some certificates and some offer both.
Eileen Daniel, vice provost at Brockport, said the college’s capacity for online education has increased in recent years and students are starting to expect online coursework.
“More and more students are opting for the flexibility. They want to get a graduate degree or they can’t commit to every Monday night. Or they can’t commit to driving to Brockport from wherever they live,” Daniel said.
In many cases, online courses are more than a mere convenience; a growing number of students are coming from beyond commuter distance, Daniel said.
“The same faculty who teach in face-to-face courses are teaching in these. Almost all have doctoral degrees,” Daniel said. In some cases, the online experience can be more robust as students who are uncomfortable to speak up in class find it easier to write a question on screen. Online class discussions often require responses. “It’s 100 percent engagement for the most part,” she said.
Students may still enroll in some of these new programs, Daniel said. The college has other new graduate programs coming perhaps as early as spring 2019, she said, such as a master’s degree in instructional design, higher education administration and computer science. While some degrees may duplicate others offered in the Rochester area, Daniel not that state college tuition is significantly less than at private colleges.
More information about the programs is available online.
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