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Return to Distance Education - News
Connections October 2009
JesuitNET Provides New Services for Online Program Implementation
Richard Vigilante, Executive Director
Jesuit Distance Education Network
JesuitNET is expanding its proven online curriculum development services for Jesuit colleges and universities to include a broad range of recruitment, retention, and support service capabilities necessary for successful online programs. Nineteen AJCU institutions—six in partnership with JesuitNET--currently offer one or more online degrees or certificates.
In sharp contrast to for-profit companies that develop and market new online programs for a 50 to 60 percent share of annual tuition revenues, JesuitNET allows contracting AJCU institutions to keep all of their tuition revenues from the beginning. And unlike these vendors, JesuitNET helps train staff and redesign processes to build the robust internal campus capabilities necessary to support online students.
Developing new online degree and certificate programs in partnership with JesuitNET will enable AJCU colleges and universities to recruit new students, create Ignatian curricula and support online students.
Recruit New Students. JesuitNET works closely with campus marketing staff and academic departments to determine the best advertising venues for the online programs and to create a common look and feel for program promotional materials that are consistent with institutional branding initiatives. JesuitNET trains campus recruitment and academic staffs to support students at a distance and to develop tracking methods for determining the effectiveness of the marketing material. Working with faculty, administration, and the marketing department, JesuitNET prepares a marketing plan for each online program that includes online lead generation, online banner advertising, print advertising, sponsorship and advertising at professional conferences, as well as general public relations and outreach to alumni.
Create Ignatian Curricula. Jesuit education has historically moved instruction beyond rote knowledge by asking students to reflect upon the meaning and significance of what they are studying, and by involving them as active participants in the teaching-learning process. Through its competency-based curriculum development model, JesuitNET provides AJCU institutions with new opportunities to create specifically Ignatian curricula. All JesuitNET course design workshops are co-facilitated by a Jesuit priest to ensure faculty creation of online learning experiences that integrate critical thinking skills and self-reflective capacity.
Support Online Students. Highly-experienced staff at Jesuit colleges and universities provide a broad range of recruitment, admissions, advisement, library, and support services for on-campus students. These employees possess a unique understanding of and appreciation for their institution’s Jesuit mission and values, and are a human resource that cannot be duplicated by for-profit vendors. Working together, JesuitNET and campus staff will ensure that students have comprehensive guidance and information as they enroll in and complete an online program. This includes information about course management and email systems, online library and bookstore services, financial aid, registration, advisement, academic integrity, and related services.
JesuitNET welcomes the opportunity to discuss its online program capabilities with AJCU academic administrators, deans and faculty. These discussions would compare the revenues and expenses of online degree and certificate options, and would describe a sample online degree proposal that documents competing programs, projects multi-year enrollments/revenues/expenses, and outlines a marketing plan. JesuitNET will subsequently work with designated campus staff to produce a complete online program proposal for free.
For more information about JesuitNET’s online program services, please contact Richard Vigilante at vigilante@ajcunet.edu or 212-348-6113.
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