We Updated Our Blog!

CourseDen got a facelift so we decided to do the same for our blog. Please visit http://wp.westga.edu/uwgonline/ to see the changes. If you are receiving an RSS feed from this blog, be sure to switch the feed over to the new one. If you need any assistance, please give us a call at 678-839-6248 or 1-855-933-8946.

UWG Online Adds Three Programs

by Julie Lineback

Students who want to further their education online now have more opportunities to do so at the University of West Georgia. UWG Online is now offering three new degrees, one at the doctoral level and two at the master’s level.

UWG Online Adds Three Programs The Ed.D. in Professional Counseling and Supervision will be offered online beginning summer 2014. The program is intended for advanced counseling practitioners who recognize the career advantages for those who have advanced preparation in program evaluation, administrative supervision, and advocacy and leadership. The program will be offered entirely online.

“The principal benefit of moving to an entirely online, asynchronous model of instruction is the ability to attract qualified counselors from across the state, region and nation,” explains Dr. Debra Cobia, associate dean and professor of counselor education in the College of Education. “The increased diversity of students and practice settings possible with such a model enriches the experience of all students and the faculty.”

The two master’s degrees are also offered by the College of Education.

The M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education is designed to develop pre-K - 5 teachers and enhance their proficiency in teaching, curriculum development, research and assessment. The course is held 95% online.

“Online programs give students who cannot come to campus opportunities to participate in professional development that they may not have had,” says Dr. Donna Harkins, associate professor and chair of the department of learning and teaching. “They offer students a high-quality learning experience and the flexibility of online education.”

The M.Ed. in Reading Instruction also has an online program available beginning this semester and is geared toward practicing professionals who wish to gain expertise in the literacy field and grow as leaders in their occupations.

“The advantages of offering this degree online is that students will be able to understand literacy theory and research at a deeper level than in face-to-face classes,” describes Dr. Tamra Ogletree, associate professor and coordinator for language and literacy. “This allows them to align the concepts and theory directly into their practices in order to develop a critical stance.”

- You can find the original article and more on UWG Perspective

UWG's online programs are making headlines

 

UWG Once Again Earns High National Rankings in Online Programs

by Elizabeth Stone

U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 “Best Online Programs” rankings place the University of West Georgia among the top in the nation, including a WebMBA program ranking of fourth nationally and an online graduate computer information technology program ranking of 12th nationally. UWG’s online graduate nursing program, online graduate education program and online bachelor’s program in criminology received high marks as well.
- See more at: http://uwgperspective.com/around/stories/usnwr14.html
 

Georgia online grad programs rank high on U.S. News list

By Janel Davis

Online graduate programs at Georgia colleges and universities ranked high on lists compiled by U.S. News & World Report and released Wednesday.

The magazine separated its undergraduate and graduate rankings. Graduate rankings were further separated by program type, including business, computer information technology, education, engineering and nursing. Hundreds of institutions were included in each program listing, and in some cases several schools tied for the same ranking in each program.
- See more at: http://www.ajc.com/news/news/georgia-online-grad-programs-rank-high-on-us-news-/ncfhD/

D2L Update – Some things we would like to mention

For those of you who read the West Georgian, an article was printed today explaining some of the changes that will be coming to CourseDen. UWG | Online would like to expand on some of the topics that were discussed.

We are working very hard to gather instructional material for the 10.2 update. We plan to have walkthroughs and tutorials available on uwgonline.westga.edu before our winter break. Jan. 2nd, 2014 will be the first day that students and instructors will be able to access the updated CourseDen. Courses will be available Jan. 6th, 2014 – the first day of Spring classes.

The biggest improvement to CourseDen is a cleaner navigation. We have designed the new system to better facilitate communication within the system between students and instructors.

More and more students are taking classes online. This growth was discussed in the article, but it might be misinterpreted as the number of helpdesk calls UWG | Online receives. “UWG online had eight inquires a day this time last year, and this year there is an average of 16.” Inquires refer to the unofficial number of potential students seeking information about our online programs. This number has almost doubled over the course of a year. In less than 3 months that is the same amount of students in the graduating class of Spring 2013!

Desire2Learn is the name of the company that provides and supports the software for our learning management system. CourseDen is the name UWG gives our learning management system. When there is a reference to Desire2Learn, it is a reference to CourseDen. We want to stress that this update will be affecting an online system that is used by almost all online and face-to-face students attending UWG.

We would like to mention that the week of November 11th – 15th is Distance Learning Week. UWG | Online will be having daily social media activities, Google hangouts, and online webinars. For students on campus, we will have a booth set-up in the library (next to Starbucks) from 10 – 2. Stop by to learn about the new upgrade and a chance to receive promotional items. Visit http://uwgonline.westga.edu/distance-learning-week.php for more information about Distance Learning Week.

UWG | Online would like to sincerely thank The West Georgian for helping us get the word out about CourseDen’s upgrade! If you would like to learn more about 10.2, please visit http://uwgonline.westga.edu/announcements.php or give us a call at 1-855-933-8946.

CourseDen is getting an Upgrade!

CourseDen is getting a cleaner, more user friendly interface

In preparation for Spring Semester 2014, CourseDen's Desire2Learn (D2L) will be upgraded to version 10.2. The upgrade will make D2L unavailable beginning some time on 12/19, with an expected return to service by midnight on 12/26.

Because this is an in-place upgrade, instructor access could be restored slightly earlier or could be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. Any delays or changes in service will be communicated via the all-faculty email listserv.

Students will be able to login and access a student orientation course by noon on 01/02. However, they will not be able to access their Spring 2014 classes until the official start date of January 6th. In contrast to the major upgrade performed on D2L in January, this upgrade does not involve changes to the look and feel or include significant changes to tool functionality. Rather, it features improvements and fixes to D2L's usability and added functionality that will enhance instructor and student experiences.

For technical assistance over the winter holidays (12/18/2013 - 01/01/2014), please refer to the 24 hr University System of Georgia's D2L Helpdesk at:

http://D2Lhelp.view.usg.edu/
TOLL FREE 1-855-772-0423
TOLL FREE FOR HEARING IMPAIRED 1-800-892-4315
Appropriate adaptive technology (hardware) necessary to use this number.

Any issues that the 24 hr. USG's D2L Helpdesk cannot resolve will be escalated to UWG Online Helpdesk administrators to resolve upon campus' reopening on 01/02/2014.

Visit our Announcements website to learn more about feature improvements, available tutorials, or other frequently asked questions.