Virtual Path to Diversity

At UMUC, the population of black students includes a large percentage with some previous college education, but without a bachelor’s degree, said Susan Aldridge, the president. Their experience suggests that there may be significant numbers of black people who could complete bachelor’s programs without starting from scratch, if provided with the right flexibility, which typically includes online education, she said.

Most of the black students — like most of UMUC’s other students as well — are holding down jobs and can only consider educational programs that can fit into tight schedules. The students aren’t necessarily looking for online programs, and sign up for the in-person courses that UMUC offers, but typically use a “mix and match approach” in which they rely on online education to get the required credits. “This is about giving access to students so they can take care of their work schedules,” Aldridge said.

While these students have jobs, Aldridge said that the university was also trying to reach a more disadvantaged population through new scholarships for unemployed people, and was raising money to create a fund to provide laptops for them. Most of these students are gravitating to certificate programs, not degree programs, at least at first, Aldridge said. A bachelor’s program can be “daunting,” she said...SOURCE