Vol. 1, No. 2 - December 14, 2001

UWW Director Reflects on Remarkable Year

Bolstered by a half-million dollar grant that has enhanced distance-learning opportunities, Skidmore's University Without Walls marks its 30th year with increased enrollment and growing excitement about the future.

The announcement this summer of a $460,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation of New York City sparked the development of three new baccalaureate-level distance-learning programs. By the end of the academic year, a total of 10 new courses will have been developed for three interdisciplinary programs: American History and Culture, Human Nature and Behavior, and Communication and the Arts. All three programs have been designed to be completed entirely over the Internet.

Equally exciting is the heightened activity in admissions that culminated this fall in the enrollment of 27 new students from the island nation of Antigua. UWW Director Corky Reinhart and a small team of staff members traveled to Antigua in late November to meet with prospective students interested in developing educational partnerships with Skidmore. The UWW crew returned after an intensive week of interviews, meetings, and informational sessions geared toward discerning and meeting the needs of a special group of new students.

Said Reinhart, "This new awareness and interest in our program is the result of some great events that came together just recently. We would not be able to serve the more than two dozen new students without the Sloan support -- it enables us to serve our online population in important ways. And it is because of the growth in online offerings that new students are attracted to UWW."

UWW is up to meeting the special challenges presented by the Antiguan students. All of the students from this region are professional teachers who have two-year degrees. For them to advance professionally, a bachelor's degree is required. As with many UWW students, the Antiguans balance career and family needs while trying to advance their education. They sought admission to UWW because there are no four-year colleges located on the island.

Two recent UWW graduates with Antiguan connections have been instrumental in promoting the Skidmore program: Austin Josiah '90 is Antigua's labour commissioner and Colin Green '01 heads both the Antigua and the Caribbean Teachers Unions (which together have 40,000 members). An important issue for students from this region is the availability of financial aid. Both union and government officials assured Reinhart that they are supportive of the teachers' plans and will work to provide loans and other financial backing to students admitted to UWW.

Many of the new students will begin their studies in January. The majority of them are experienced early childhood teachers although the group includes a number of union leaders whose interests include political and policy issues.

Reinhart's enthusiasm over the new students is matched by his excitement for the new online courses that have been designed. He's especially proud of the quality of online discussions and research presented by students in a course titled "The West in Idea and Representation," taught by William Grant. The course has engaged its participants in exciting ways, with students providing a wealth of material and demonstrating sophisticated understanding of that material in their online discussions. Reinhart says, "To see students finding primary and secondary materials, evaluating and linking different sets of ideas, then you realize that they are not just reading history -- this is how historians work. This is how critical thinking works -- by studying different sources and different ideas, having one's ideas challenged, and being able to respond to those challenges."

At some future point, Reinhart hopes that distance learning opportunities will be made available to other Skidmore populations, such as regular students and alumni. He explains, "We would like to see exploration of the potential for both traditional and non-traditional students to use this tool. UWW grew out of one of Skidmore's earliest traditions of meeting students' needs with distinctive educational offerings. We are excited about continuing this tradition."


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