University Magazine Issue 1
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VIU.EDU<br />
Katherine Magalif is the Director of the Center for Democracy and International Affairs at VIU.<br />
She received her MA in Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies from Georgetown <strong>University</strong>.<br />
public are still unsure of the quality of<br />
online higher education as compared<br />
to on-campus, according to the same<br />
Babson survey, 77% of academic leaders<br />
rate the learning outcomes in online<br />
education as the same or even superior<br />
to those in face-to-face classes.<br />
ONLINE EDUCATION<br />
IN PRACTICE<br />
Having experienced online education<br />
from all angles, as a student, a<br />
professor and administrator and even<br />
a marketer, I can state from personal<br />
experience that online education is a<br />
very practical and cost-effective way<br />
to study and earn a degree. In fact, in<br />
several recent unofficial student surveys,<br />
online education was rated as<br />
having the best value. In speaking to<br />
online students here at Virginia International<br />
<strong>University</strong>, most comment<br />
on how convenient it is. Because the<br />
classes are so flexible, they can accommodate<br />
any schedule, leaving students<br />
in all time zones able to work,<br />
maintain family responsibilities and<br />
study at times convenient to them.<br />
Most students cite an initial fear of<br />
online courses, as they are unused to<br />
them and not sure what to expect; and<br />
then, without exception, all are pleasantly<br />
surprised by how interactive the<br />
courses are and how much support<br />
and feedback they receive from their<br />
VIU Online professors.<br />
In conclusion, recent technological<br />
developments and adoption of online<br />
learning by leading educational institutions<br />
has made it easier for online<br />
learning to enter the mainstream. With<br />
competition created by the propagation<br />
of online learning, also spurred<br />
on by MOOCs, now is the absolute<br />
best time to enroll in an online degree<br />
program to take advantage of the latest<br />
advances and gain the best value.<br />
GOING DIGITAL:<br />
THE VIU<br />
LIBRARY<br />
While VIU maintains a traditional library<br />
on its campus, the university<br />
also caters to its online students by<br />
providing them with the latest and<br />
best digital resources. VIU provides<br />
information services to its residential<br />
and online students and faculty<br />
by maintaining an on-campus<br />
library with approximately 6,600<br />
book and 50 periodical titles and<br />
by providing access to two online<br />
research databases. The library<br />
website provides access to the library’s<br />
electronic catalog, its two<br />
online research databases, and<br />
links to over 240 websites relevant<br />
to the curriculum. Students and<br />
faculty can also contact the library<br />
staff through the library website.<br />
VIU subscribes to LIRN and e.brary,<br />
two online research databases.<br />
LIRN provides access to<br />
the full-text of millions<br />
of articles from thousands<br />
of periodicals,<br />
many of them peer<br />
reviewed. e.brary, on<br />
the other hand, provides<br />
access to the fulltexts<br />
of over 85,000<br />
current academic<br />
books.<br />
and<br />
LIRN<br />
e.brary<br />
can be accessed<br />
from<br />
any computer<br />
with an Internet<br />
connection.<br />
Spring 2014 <strong>University</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, VIU<br />
51
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