Services extend to branches

Staff Report

Actively seeking ways to provide support services, in addition to delivering degree completion and graduate programs, one program is extending its reach to serve more students - especially those in remote locations in New Mexico.

UNM's Extended University program was started in January 2000 to coordinate the institution's distance education programs. It provides an alternative to the traditional campus experience and is ideal for any student working around scheduling problems, full-time employment or who lives a distance from the main campus.

According to the project's Web site, its mission is to create enriching education experiences for students throughout the state and is pursued in conjunction with the University's branch campuses and learning centers and accomplished through instruction in traditional face-to-face teaching, as well as through a variety of technologies, including televised programming or video conference applications.

"We're more student-focused than ever before," Jeronimo Dominguez, vice provost for Extended University and dean of Continuing Education said in a University press release. "The Extended University staff is working hard to ensure that all student service support systems are available to distance education students."

Dominguez said that the Extended University department realizes that access to library resources, technical support, advisement and other student services are critical for students who are far away from the main campus and are adjusting their services accordingly.

"We're now master planning three-to-five years out, not just year-to-year," Dominguez said. "We're using an organizing approach that follows a sequential order so that students can complete their degree courses."

Extended University currently has six field centers - several co-located within UNM branches in Gallup, Los Alamos and Taos, as well as in Santa Fe, Rio Rancho and Kirtland Air Force Base.

In addition, several communities throughout the state also have the capacity to support two-way audio instruction, as well as satellite-downlink instructional television.

Extended University coursework is delivered online, through correspondence and traditional classroom settings, depending upon local capabilities and resources.

Courses are offered in many subject areas and disciplines, including engineering, education, nursing and public administration. Additionally, a host of courses, many of which meet Bachelor of University Studies requirements are offered through the College of Arts and Sciences, including English, psychology, anthropology, chemistry, economics and mathematics.

Dominguez said that although more than 190 UNM main and branch professors have been certified to teach Extended University courses, the capacity to recruit and retain professors at the local sites is important to the program's success.

He pointed out expanding partnerships with the state's local community colleges as another key element.

Gallup's branch campus has recently been selected to offer the Bachelor of Business Administration degree in conjunction with Anderson Schools of Management. The three-year pilot program now requires main campus professors to commute to Gallup to teach the courses.

"We want to grow the capacity for teaching those courses at the end," Dominguez said. "We want to eventually use local resources."

Dominguez projects that by the end of the 2003 Spring semester, about 16,000 students will be using the Extended University resources online. However, the program is still working to overcome barriers such as funding and infrastructure issues.

According to sources, Dominguez sees the Extended University as an asset for both UNM and the entire state.

"It allows us to help the state develop the way it needs to develop, both educationally and economically," he said.