NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

3/15/2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- Northwestern State University will offer an online Bachelors of Science in Psychology beginning in the fall 2002 semester. Northwestern will be introducing the first fully Web-based psychology degree from a university in Louisiana.

NSU leads the state in the number of exclusively electronic course offerings. This semester, 107 electronic classes are available with an enrollment of 3,105.

"Making classes available any time at any place has been a priority at Northwestern," said NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb. "Universities must adapt to the changing needs of prospective students. It is essential to have classes and degree programs available at times prospective students who work or have family obligations can take them."

The new degree program should be very convenient for students.

"This means that a student can earn the degree without the traditional campus-based attendance paradigm," said Mike Abbiatti, the Board of Regents' associate commissioner for information and learning technology. In the complete scenario, a student will be able to locate the psychology degree program and its requirements, register,take all of the classes, submit papers and reports, take appropriate examinations,and be awarded the degree, all online. This type of academic offering is becoming popular on the local, national and international levels. "

Abbiatti said Northwestern has six of the 11 degree programs currently offered electronically in Louisiana by state public postsecondary institutions.

The Department of Psychology has presented up to eight different courses online in support on Internet degree programs in criminal justice and nursing.

"Psychology is one of the most popular programs at the university and we feel this will provide increased options for students," said Dr. Patrice Moulton, head of the Department of Psychology at Northwestern. "This will be a beneficial program for those in the workforce who need additional training, community college students who would like to continue their education without moving or those who have limited educational options because of work, family obligations or other circumstances."

Information on the program is available at www.nsula.edu/psych-online.
The site has information on course rotations, degree requirements, the department's faculty and the enrollment process. Also available is information on the department's certificate of completion in substance abuse and prevention.

"This is a program that should have a broad appeal," said Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Kelvin Bentley, the coordinator of the online degree program. "The administration at Northwestern has been very helpful. I am impressed at how receptive the faculty and administration has been to putting this program online."

Moulton said all of the department's faculty will be teaching online courses. They will also work with adjunct faculty in the department.

"All the faculty are on board for this and will mentor other faculty as they come on," she said.

Bentley is teaching two courses online this semester and has become a proponent of electronic learning.

"Teaching the courses online challenged me to rethink what distance education is about," said Bentley. "It is not about just putting content online. It is about building online communities through online chat and encouraging students to use discussion boards. Electronic classes provide a process of active learning that has a huge impact on all students.

"In a sense it gives students ownership of the course through discussion and talking with other students. The classes allow students to educate other students, they learn more fully and there is a sense of achievement across the board."

For more information, contact Bentley at bentleyk@nsula.edu.

Main Menu