More Online Programs On the Way

An expanded number of fully online degree programs will debut in January as St. Ambrose refocuses its commitment to the adult learner.

By spring semester, St. Ambrose will have five online programs students can access and complete at their convenience.

These include undergraduate degree programs in business administration and applied management studies and a program for registered nurses seeking a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Two graduate degree programs, the Master of Business Administration and the Master of Criminal Justice, also will be offered in a convenient format that will allow students to access content on their own schedules, with no set meeting times.

Each program will be taught and administered by full-time St. Ambrose faculty with the assistance of academically and experientially qualified adjunct instructors. Courses will be delivered in eight-week segments that allow students to complete their degree in less time than it would take through the traditional 16-week format. This is an accelerated schedule that has allowed St. Ambrose to help thousands of adult learners earn degrees in seated and hybrid classes for more than two decades.

Technical support for the fully online programs will be provided by The Learning House, a national firm that specializes in logistical, enrollment management and marketing support for online education at private, independent colleges.

"The key for us is the absolute insistence on high quality, which we already have in online programs," said Paul Koch, PhD, St. Ambrose provost and vice president for academic and student affairs. "But we see an ability to ramp up the quality even further with logistical support for instructional design from The Learning House.''

A Master of Public Health degree will debut in the fully online format in August. Additional programs will be added over the next several years.