This fall, the University of North Carolina introduced a new website for students looking to enroll in online degree programs or take online classes in an effort to make it easier for older or working students to get degrees, even though they may not have the means to make it to campus on a daily basis.

The introduction of one cohesive website that lists online programs at all UNC-System schools has helped further spur an expanding and growing education program at NC State, which is currently increasing enrollment at a rate of about 20 percent each year, according to Rebecca Swanson, the associate vice provost of Distance and Distributed Education. 

For the 2013-14 school year, distance education at NC State had 815 online courses and 1,786 sections for the year. In total, 19,160 students were enrolled in some form of distance education.

“The most pointed-to indication to why students take distance education courses is that it allows for flexibility in their schedule,” Swanson said. “When we survey our students each semester, one statistic that stood out to me was the high percentage of students who work both full time and part time. What that tells us is that they really rely on schedule flexibility to balance work and study.”

Distance Education is beginning to introduce two graduate level certificates in statistics as well as a program for counselor education. 

The online Leadership in the Public Sector degree completion program is specifically geared toward veterans and adults returning to education after a hiatus, allowing them to pursue a B.A. from NC State that is the same as an on-campus degree.

“We certainly focus on key constituencies,” Swanson said. “We are focusing more on adult learners who return to school after a hiatus and military veterans or military families. Another thing we are hoping to have more of a direct affiliate with is professional students who need extra training for a master’s degree or a specific certificate.”

At the end of every semester, students in Distance Education complete a survey asking general questions on how distance education at NC State could be improved.  

“We focus a lot on technologies in our surveys, so we need to be very aware of how students are accessing technologies,” Swanson said. 

Technology is a big aspect of distance education; one of the most recent innovations has been the transition to make Moodle and online education courses more smartphone-friendly for students, and video has also been used more for connecting students to their courses and lectures, according to Jennifer Tripoli, a graduate student in the Distance Education Operations Research program.

“It is very nice because, working full time, you can watch modules on demand and work on your own pace, as opposed to be confined to particular hours they are set,” Tripoli said. “The only downside is that you cannot ask questions real time, but you can email multiple professors, and the ones I have had are very good at getting back.”

New students entering into Distance Education are given an online orientation on how to use Moodle and other site tools and resources. Testing is also a unique aspect of the program, offering options from in-person testing to testing via Moodle, according to Sharon Broere, the associate director of Distance Education Administrative Services.

“Students can set up exams with proctors at areas such as libraries to take their exam with the institution,” Broere said. “We do a lot of testing compared to testing centers, and we are able to accommodate a lot more students because we have a walk-in based system instead of an appointment system.”

With increased traffic to the University of North Carolina’s Online Education page, Swanson said the future looks bright for the Distance Education program at NC State.

“We feel that distance education fulfills the university’s land-grant mission,” Swanson said. “North Carolina is a widely dispersed state in regards to population, and there are many counties where there is not a single institution of higher education. We feel strongly that distance education is a way to help people located in those areas to achieve their educational goals.”