HAVING A COLLEGE EDUCATION IN TODAY'S FIERCE JOB MARKET IS PARAMOUNT.
SO, WHILE BRICK AND MOTAR CLASSROOM ATTENDANTS REQUIRE THOSE DEGREES AND JOB SKILLS REMAINS
ROBUST.
THERE'S ALSO EXPLOSIVE GROWTH ON ONLINE EDUCATIONS.
NOT ONLY ARE THEY HERE TO STAY BUT THEY ARE GROWING TREMENDOUSLY.
WITH US TO DISCUSS THE GROWTH OF BENEFITS TO ONLINE EDUCATION,
DR.
KYLE MORRERO, PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA.
AND U.W.G.
PROVOST AND VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, DR.
MICHAEL CRAFTON.
GOOD MORNING GENTLEMAN.
GOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE BECAUSE THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT ME.
I FINISHED COLLEGE, BUT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO RETURN.
THE OPTIONS ARE GREAT TODAY.
DR.
MORRERO LET ME BRING YOU IN BECAUSE, SURE.
THE BENEFITS ARE THERE AND IT'S EXCITING TODAY, THIS ONLINE EDUCATION.
THAT'S RIGHT.
AND YOU SAID IT PERFECTLY.
IT'S ALL ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY.
ALRIGHT?
AND FLEXIBILITY.
THE ABILITY WITHIN THERE.
SCHEDULES YOUR SCHEDULES, WHETHER YOU ARE A WORKING MOTHER.
WHETHER YOU ARE A STAY AT HOME MOM.
WHATEVER THAT MAY BE AND THEN AFFORDABILITY.
SO, THOSE ARE THE THREE AREAS THAT WE LOOK.
THAT'S IT IN A NUTSHELL.
AND THAT'S HOW WE KNOW MARKET WISE WE HAVE TO APPROACH OUR STUDENTS IN A ONLINE
ENVIRONMENT.
DR.
CRAFTON, WHAT IS THE PROFILE OF A TYPICAL UWG ONLINE STUDENT.
THE TYPICAL STUDENT IS A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THE MEDIAN AGE.
OKAY. 25, 26, 30 YEARS OLD.
UNDERSTANDABLY.
AND USUALLY TAKING TWO CLASSES AND JUGGLING LIFE AND KIDS, AS YOU SAY.
BUT BECAUSE OF THAT FLEXIBILITY, YOU CAN DO THE WORK
ANYTIME YOU WANT TO BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO FINISH AT A CERTAIN PACE
AND GET THROUGH.
THAT'S RIGHT.
SO, WE PUT ALL THE STRUCTURES IN OUR CAMPUS TO MAKE SURE THAT
YOU HAVE THE HELP THAT YOU NEED AND YOU GET IT DONE.
37 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE SOME COLLEGE CREDIT.
THAT THEY HAVE NOT COMPETED THEIR DEGREE.
THAT IS 20 PERCENT OF THE WORKFORCE.
WHAT A SHAME!
SO, THAT'S HOW WE HAVE TO ENGAGE.
BRING THEM BACK.
THAT'S PART OF COMPLETE COLLEGE AMERICA.
COMPLETE COLLEGE GEORGIA.
AND OUR PLAN AT UWG.
AND LET'S TALK ABOUT NOT ONLY JUST THE BENEFITS OF STUDYING ONLINE.
BUT I'M ASSUMING HERE THAT THERE HAS TO BE A GREAT SAVINGS
AS WELL.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT IN A NUMBER OF WAYS.
I MEAN IF YOU ARE AN OUT OF STATE STUDENT, YOU PAY IN STATE TUITION.
YOU DON'T PAY ANYTHING EXTRA TO TAKE A COURSE ONLINE.
WHEREAS IF YOU ARE AN OUT OF STATE STUDENT AND YOU
GO TO OUR STATE, YOU PAY MORE.
BUT ALSO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY GAS.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIVE IN A DORM.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ALL OF THOSE TRADITIONAL THINGS.
SO, YOU SAVE THERE.
WE ARE ALSO HAVE AN ISSUE WHEN YOU MENTION THE ECORE.
YEAH, OUR NEXT DEVELOPMENT WITH OUR ECORE OR CORE CURRICULUM.
ALL OF THE FRESHMAN, SOPHOMORE, CORE COMMUNITY, WE ACTUALLY REDUCED THAT TUITION FOR PRICE
POINT, FOR MARKET ELASTICITY.
AND WE ARE ALSO DOING OPEN SOURCE TEXT BOOKS AND MATERIALS.
FREE BOOKS.
WITHIN THE COURSE ITSELF, SO THE SAVINGS THAT WE KNOW AFFORDABILITY IS A NUMBER ON DRIVER
FOR EDUCATIONAL ACTIONS.
CAN WE DISCUSS SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE OFFERED.
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY SOME THINGS CAN NEVER BE LEARNED ONLINE.
LIKE IF YOU ARE GOING TO A SURGEON.
SO WE HAVE 22 PROGRAMS TOTAL.
GOING FROM JUST A CERTIFICATE PROGRAM.
TO A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE TO A DOCTORATE DEGREE.
WE HAVE A DOCTORATE IN NURSING.
MASTER'S IN THE MIDDLE.
THE MBA.
OUR MBA IS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE TOP IN THE COUNTRY.
4TH IN THE COUNTRY.
ONLINE.
WOW!
BY US.
NEWS AND WORLD.
RIGHT?
THAT'S EXCELLENT.
NOT JUST BY YOU.
THAT'S RIGHT.
WHICH IS IMPORTANT.
IT IS.
(LAUGHS) AND DOCTOR, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE IT.
TODAY MORE THAN EVER, I TELL MY CHILDREN, LISTEN, IN MY GRANDPARENTS TIME MANY OF THEM
MADE IT WITHOUT GETTING THAT COLLEGE DEGREE.
BUT YOU KNOW THE HIGHER SALARIES ARE THERE WHEN YOU FINISH.
AND OVER A MILLION DOLLARS, AND ALL THE STUDIES SHOW THAT
YOU WILL EARN OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN YOUR LIFETIME BY GETTING A
COLLEGE DEGREE.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT IS STILL THERE.
HUGE.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, IT IS FOR EVERYBODY.
I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, WHAT TYPE OF STUDENT WE REALLY ENGAGE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT.
THOSE LIKE YOU OR I ARE THAT ARE EXTROVERTS, WE LOVE THAT CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT.
AND I DID.
I LIKED GOING AND SPEAKING TO MY PROFESSOR AND I DROVE HIM CRAZY.
YEAH.
WELL, THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT IS THOSE MORE
QUIET STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITHIN THAT, WITH THAT PROFESSOR ONLINE.
SEND THE EMAIL WHEN THEY ARE READY WITH THEIR QUESTIONS.
THEY'VE HAD A CHANCE TO REFLECT AND THINK AND WE'VE ACTUALLY FOUND
THAT ANECDOTALLY THAT STUDENTS ARE MORE ENGAGED WITH OUT INSTRUCTORS AND PROFESSORS AND THE
LEARNING OUTCOMES ARE THE SAME OR BETTER.
THE BOTTOM LINE FOR ME, IS I LIKE THE OPTION THAT'S OUT THERE.
FOR ANYONE WHO CAN EITHER GO TO THE UNIVERSITY AND SPEND THE FOUR YEARS THERE OR DON'T HAVE
THAT OPPORTUNITY OR LIKE ME, I DON'T HAVE THE TIME ANYMORE BUT I'D LIKE TO MAYBE GET
MY MASTER'S.
THERE'S THAT OPTION OF DOING IT TODAY.
RIGHT.
AND THAT KEEPS YOU ENGAGED.
A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS WILL START WITH THE TRADITIONAL EDUCATION, DROP OUT, WORK, THEN
GET BACK GOING ONLINE AND THEN GO BACK TO SCHOOL SOMETIMES.
AND THEN WHEN SOMETHING GETS IN THE WAY, BACK TO ONLINE.
I MEAN YOU HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO CONTINUE YOUR EDUCATION AND NOT STOP.
FLEXIBILITY.
ACCESSIBILITY.
AFFORDABILITY.
AND NO MORE EXCUSES.
NO MORE EXCUSES!
YOU CAN GET IT DONE.
FOR INFORMATION FOR OUR VIEWERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAYBE CHECK IT OUT,
AND WHO KNOWS, MAYBE GET ONLINE TODAY AND ENROLL.
UWGONLINE.WEGA.EDU WELL, YOU MIGHT SEE OLGA VILLAVERDE THERE.
THAT'S RIGHT!
WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOUR APPLICATION.
I NEED TO GET A MASTERS.
THEN I CAN TELL MY HUSBAND, SEE I TOLD YOU SO.
(LAUGHS) THANK YOU GENTLEMAN.
I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
THANK YOU.
AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ONLINE EDUCATION,
YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE, THEBALANCINGACT.COM
OR REACH OUT AND LOG ON TO FACEBOOK/THEBALANCINGACTFANS
AND THEN AFTER THE MASTERS, I'LL GO FOR A DOCTORATE.
DOCTORATE, THAT'S RIGHT.