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CSUN's first online class to get diplomas this week By Lisa M. Sodders Denise Druiff got her master's degree from California -State University, Northridge, without ever having to hunt for a parking spot on campus. That's because Druiff, 49, of Huntington Beach graduated from CSUN's first online degree program, which offers master's degrees in speech-language pathology. "The program allowed me to custom-fit class schedules around my job and family," Druiff said. "I could attend class early in the morning or late at night. I could go to class in my pajamas and slippers." The 24 students who completed the three-year program will receive their diplomas at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the College of Health and Human Development's ceremony on the Oviatt Lawn in the center of campus. CSUN will begin its weeklong series of commencement ceremonies today, with its Honors Convocation. Overall, a record 7,677 students are expected to graduate from the San Fernando Valley's only four-year university. The speech-language pathology program trains therapists in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers to help people overcome speech impediments caused by autism, strokes, accidents and birth defects. It is the only online master's program offered at CSUN, although a master's degree in engineering management is being developed, said Tyler Blake, executive director of distance learning for CSUN. Blake said online programs are designed for working adults who have families and full-time jobs and who are unable to take time of to attend a campus-based program. "This really is the main access path they have to upgrade their skills," something that is becoming increasingly important in today's competitive economy, he said. Druiff, a speech therapist with the Magnolia School District in Orange County, started work toward a master's degree in her 20s, but never completer it. When she read about CSUN's program in an news letter, it seemed the perfect solution. She and the other, students attended class by viewing PowerPoint presentations recorded on CD-ROMs, and used the Internet, e-mail and fax to complete assignments, while doing supervised fieldwork. "In a residential program, you might spend three hours in class and you may be tired. With distance education, you can stop the lecture and take a break, or repeat things you didn't catch the first time," she said. Karen Green, coordinator of distance learning/ communications disorders and sciences, said the program is a unique collaboration between the College of Health and Human Development, which provides the content for the course, and the College of Extended Learning, which handles technical support and administration of the program. There are three other classes running now, with a total of 72 students, some of whom live as far away as Virginia, New York and Maryland, Green said. The mean age is about 34, and most students access the course between 8 p.m. and midnight. Making sure students and their professors communicate with one another is perhaps the most important part of an online program, Green said. "Distance education forces every student in the class to communicate," she noted. "Sometimes in a residential class, the smart kids answer the questions, but (online) everybody has to participate, even the people who aren't as gregarious." Home
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August 26, 2008
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