Online nursing classes provide degrees, convenience for graduate students

Like many other UCLA students Deovina Jordan finds herself
studying for her classes late at night. The difference is she
isn’t finishing a last- minute paper; she is one of the
increasing number of national college students taking online
courses.

After working 12 hours at the UCLA Medical Center, Jordan, a
second-year graduate nursing student, can go home to listen to
online nursing administration lectures, instead of giving up her
day job to take courses.

“On the computer, I can access lectures and assignments;
it’s all very organized,” Jordan said.

The Nursing Administration specialty, the MBA/MSN program and
the Nursing Administration, Occupational and Environmental Health
specialty all offer coursework in the online format.

For $30 per unit more than the regular classes, the program
allows graduate nursing students to listen to audio recordings of
professors’ lectures and study lecture notes and power point
presentations equal to those of the traditional lecture classes.
The are also online forums where students can post questions for
professors and fellow students.

Currently, the nursing program requires students to take four
elective courses that are still only taught on campus. However,
Adeline Nyamathi, associate dean of academic affairs, said
administrators are thinking of putting those courses online.

She added that she believes putting nursing electives online
will boost enrollment.

Nyamathi said she wanted to dispel any misconceptions about the
quality of education the 3-year-old online program provides.

She said “there’s a lot of fear at the UCs”
over whether students have less accountability when they take
online courses. She added that students do interact with their
professors through e-mail, are required to attend some on-campus
lectures, and take a final in a classroom.

Marie Cowan, dean of the UCLA School of Nursing, said the online
nursing program is the first degree-granting program to go online
UCLA.

Nyamathi said the program began in the fall 2001, after the
School of Nursing received a $186,500 grant from eCollege, a
company that assists higher educational programs with online
formatting.

Kathy Scrivner, the nursing school’s student affairs
officer, said at the 2002 graduation ““ which was the first
class where online courses were offered ““ three of the 12
students consistently took their courses online. This past June
that ratio increased to six students out of 14.

Nyamathi said two students this past year were able to keep up
with coursework as they attended a two-week internship in
Washington, D.C. In the past, she says students who did the
internship would fall behind in lectures.

Jordan said one of her fellow students with a learning
disability appreciated the online format because it was easier for
her to catch up in her coursework.

However, Jordan said she has had problems with the online
program. She said she bought a new computer and was unable to
access her coursework online because the program required an older
browser.

When she called the 24-hour eCollege technical assistance line,
it took them a day to get back to her. In the end, they were unable
to help her, so she has to use an older computer to access her
coursework.

Despite the hassle, Jordan still says she prefers the online
nursing program.

“It just transcends my knowledge on all those courses, it
helps me a lot,” Jordan said.

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