FAMU to Offer Distance Learning Courses in August

Today, Florida A&M University (FAMU) Board of Trustees unanimously approved the one-year contract with the Tom Joyner Online Education (TJOE) for its distance-learning program.

The online program will offer master’s degrees in nursing, public health and business. These programs will commence in August 2011 and university officials are expecting 271 students during the first year of the program. The courses will be hosted on www.hbcusonline.com.

“The need for distance education programs is first and foremost because of student demand," said Director for Instructional Technology Franzetta D. Fitz. “Many students are seeking educational opportunities outside of the traditional campus environment in order to qualify for advancement in their careers while continuing to fulfill their daily obligations. An online distance education program allows FAMU to compete with other institutions to provide the same quality of education online that our traditional students receive. In addition, it allows us to increase our global presence as a 21st century, state-of-the-art institution.”

The three graduate programs were selected as the pilot programs because they are in high demand. According to Fitz, the university plans to start with these graduate programs as the university builds its infrastructure to prepare to offer more online degree programs.

“Once we launch these online programs, we will move to the second phase of our plan which is to offer more graduate degree programs as well as undergraduate degree completions,” said Fitz. “The online degree completions program will initially be developed for previous FAMU students who have stopped out of school for various reasons to have the opportunity to complete their degrees online.”

Over the past two years, FAMU has created a comprehensive distance education program. The university solicited information from companies that could provide the technological infrastructure, costs and marketing support necessary for the successful delivery of online degree programs. TJOE was the most qualified company to take on the task.

FAMU will be provided with marketing and recruitment assistance, student enrollment services, non-academic student support, consulting services and academic program development by TJOE.

TJOE will provide 50 hours per year of consulting assistance during the Term of the Agreement to the university, in an effort to better prepare students for success with distance education programs. These consulting services include technology support, academic program and faculty management, academic distance education quality control, and administrative and student support issues.

For admission requirements or further information, contact Franzetta D. Fitz in the Office of Instructional Technology at (850) 599-3460 or by email at oit@famu.edu.