MC Offers On-line Higher Ed Degree Program
Carrie Cooper is doing lots of juggling as the mother of a three-year-old and assistant director of financial aid at Hinds Community College. And she's a busy student, too, enrolled in the master of science in higher education administration at her alma mater, Mississippi College.
For the first time this fall, Cooper and other students pursuing a master's in higher education administration on the Clinton campus will have the option of taking on-line classes.
The program's key change is the new on-line degree will be more convenient to students unable to attend classes on campus. MC students should expect the same assistance from their on-line faculty as they would with an instructor in a traditional classroom setting. Each facility member will receive on-line training to get them ready for fall classes. The Leland Speed Library on the Clinton campus is another valuable information resource for students going the on-line route.
"With on-line it makes it easier,'' Cooper said. "I may take classes on-line.'' It should shorten the distance to a better education for Cooper, 28, who lives in Terry and works on the main Hinds campus in Raymond. She is a 2001 MC graduate with a degree in marketing.
The Hinds staff member hopes to complete her degree at the 4,000-student Christian university in spring 2008.
Dr. Debbie Norris, MC's graduate school dean and the advisor for the 31-hour degree program, anticipates ten students will sign up during the first year of on-line courses. By fall 2008, all classes in the program will be available on-line.
Enrolled at MC's graduate school since fall 2006, Cooper wants to use her master's to move up the career ladder in higher education. In her courses now, she's learning how to deal with budgets, studies laws dealing with financial aid, and hones her leadership skills. Guest lecturers have included Blue Mountain College President Dr. Bettye Coward, a former MC administrator, and MC business professor Lloyd Roberts. "This is a great program,'' Cooper said.
With schools like Hinds, Jackson State University, three four-year private colleges, two seminaries and a host of state agencies in the Jackson metro area, MC officials expect they will have a solid base to attract students to its new on-line program. They believe it will open doors for students who might not have chosen graduate opportunities at Mississippi College. The new program at MC reflects a nationwide surge in on-line student enrollment.
Contact the graduate office at 601.925.3225 or visit the website at www.mc.edu/academics/onhighed.
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