Contact: Jennifer Rees, (512) 499-4409

Date: October 19, 2001

UT System News Release

UT TeleCampus Online Enrollments Climb Above 2,000

AUSTIN -- Students learning via the Internet within the University of Texas System saw some busy virtual classroom hallways when school began this fall.

The UT TeleCampus, the central support center and website for online learning within the system, offered 84 courses with enrollments breaking the 2,000 mark, almost double last fall's numbers. (Enrollments are essentially filled virtual classroom seats -- the standard measure in online education. The student count is approximately 1,500.)

Course offerings and the list of faculty partners continue to expand as well as the enrollments. More than 100 faculty from across the U.T. System now teach one or more online courses via the TeleCampus.

"The growth in online learning speaks well of the quality of the services that are being coordinated by the TeleCampus," said R. D. Burck, chancellor of the U.T. System.

"We are pleased to be using new technologies to expand the educational opportunities and choices for students, many of whom are studying online as part of a busy schedule that includes work and family responsibilities."

Burck said the growth of the online learning program also offers an important option for students as the state seeks to meet ambitious goals for increasing participation for all Texans who seek to enroll in and graduate from higher education institutions. Texas lags behind other large states in the percentage of its population enrolled in and graduating from colleges and universities.

"The UT Telecampus is an innovative solution to the state's real need for increased access and opportunity for a college education for all its citizens," Burck said.

When the TeleCampus offered its first web-based courses in fall 1999, there were 189 enrollments and only two fully online master's degree programs, in business administration and educational technology.

This fall, students could select from those two master's programs as well as five others, in kinesiology, curriculum and instruction; electrical engineering; computer science, and a hybrid program offering telecommunications professionals a master's degree in computer science and engineering. The TeleCampus also offers First Year Online, which includes the freshman and sophomore general curriculum; a program on using chess in education; and an ever-growing choice of allied health and medical courses.

Spring will see the addition of two new programs: a minor concentration (four courses) in management of information systems and a bachelor's degree completion program in criminal justice and criminology.

U.T. System campuses across the state offer courses via the award-winning TeleCampus website. The site also hosts extensive support services for distance learners, including a digital library, live or asynchronous tutoring, and hundreds of links to learning resources, admissions offices, veteran's affairs offices, financial aid and the many other offices students need to reach during a semester.

The TeleCampus also funds the development of online courses and provides support and specialized training to faculty.

Degree programs offered via the TeleCampus require no campus visits and can be completed entirely at a distance. The website provides information about which campuses participate in each academic program.

Though courses do run semester-to-semester, working professionals are gravitating to the online format for necessary flexibility in deciding where and when to complete their studies.

More information about the TeleCampus is available online. Information can also be obtained by calling the TeleCampus staff at 1-888-TEXAS-16 or by email.