Atlanta — October 10, 2007

As part of an ongoing effort to broaden access to public higher education, the University System of Georgia (USG) is launching Georgia ONmyLINE. This new website provides access to a full array of distance-education offerings from the 35 colleges and universities in the University System, thus improving service to students, both within the USG and at other institutions in Georgia and nationally. The website, found at www.georgiaonmyline.org, will provide students with a searchable catalog of online courses and programs updated each semester and a central location that allows students to register and transfer credits among multiple USG institutions.

“Through this site, prospective and enrolled students can quickly find online programs and/or courses that meet their career or degree needs. They can apply for admission to colleges and universities, and once accepted, register for courses,” said Dr. Kris Biesinger, associate vice chancellor for Information and Instructional Technology Services. The offerings also meet the educational needs of on-campus students who seek occasional online formats to meet their content, time, and scheduling needs, she noted, adding that, “Georgia ONmyLINE brings together innovative practices in higher education organization, governance, financing and technology.”

“This website will help us to achieve Goal Two of the Board of Regents’ new Strategic Plan – to create enrollment capacity to meet the needs of the 100,000 additional students expected to enroll at University System of Georgia institutions by 2020,” said Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. “One of the ways we are increasing our enrollment capacity is expanding and emphasizing our distance-education offerings.”

Featured among the 1,600 courses and 35 programs on the searchable website are six new online graduate programs designed for Georgia teachers. In a presentation showcasing Georgia ONmyLINE at the October meeting of the Board of Regents today, Biesinger told the regents that each of these degrees will provide a quality education experience that is:

• convenient and flexible in format;
• complements a practicing teacher’s schedule and environment; and
• responds quickly to enrollment growth instead of asking students to wait a year for the next available slots.

The six new online Master of Education programs that will be available for admission beginning in January 2008 and course registration later this fall include Instructional Technology, Middle Grades Math and Science, Secondary Math, Secondary Science, Reading, Language and Literacy, and a new degree appropriate for all teaching levels called Accomplished Teaching. In addition, two Master of Arts in Teaching degrees for individuals who wish to change careers and become teachers will be available in Special Education and Reading, Language and Literacy.

Five of the University System’s colleges of education are piloting this new program development and delivery model. They include Columbus State University, Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University, North Georgia College & State University, and Valdosta State University. These institutions were selected through a proposal process, and participation in the prototype program includes adhering to a set of expectations for customer service, quality, growth and financing. Several of the programs involve institutional collaboration to make better use of expertise and resources.

In order to leverage institutional talents and enable students to benefit from the offerings of more than one institution toward a single program, the USG is establishing a new registration system that will easily allow cross-institutional registrations.

Once the initial set of Master of Education programs has been launched, the University System expects to solicit proposals for additional online degree programs that are well suited to meeting areas of state need. In addition, existing collaborative online programs will be migrated to the new registration system to improve service to students and minimize back-office processing by institutions.

USG officials have set targets for increased student participation in the new Georgia ONmyLINE strategic initiative. The goal is to increase the percentage of semester credit hours generated by distance learning from the current level of 4 percent to 8 percent by 2012.

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