University of Maryland University College has charted a unique path as a public institution in online education.
For Joe Cruz, a 10-year Army veteran who served in Iraq, and wife Maria Cruz,the path from his military career to civilian life has taken the young couple from Germany to Odenton, Md., where they reside and are starting online degree programs at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) this fall. Their affiliation with UMUC began a few years ago when Joe and Maria took classroom courses at a UMUC-Europe campus while he was stationed in Germany.
While working full time, Maria will begin an online master’s program in enviornmental management and Joe will start taking courses this fall to complete work on a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He also plans to pursue an online master’s degree in software engineering from UMUC.
“With me being eligible for the new GI Bill, this is the perfect time for us to get our education. The flexibility of the online classes will allow us to work while we study,” Joe Cruz says.
As one of 11 accredited institutions in the University System of Maryland, UMUC occupies a unique place in U.S. higher education as one of the largest standalone public institutions to offer online undergraduate and graduate education programs. The school, touting itself as the nation’s single largest public university based on combined classroom and online enrollments, enrolled more than 90,000 students globally last year, including 36,000 active duty service members from around the world. Out of 130 total undergraduate and graduate programs, 116 of them are available fully online, according to the university.
With for-profit entities, such as the University of Phoenix, having gained wide public recognition as online educators, UMUC has offered proof that an accredited standalone public institution can deliver the online experience many students seek. The school’s high-profile programs for overseas military service members as well as extensive marketing in the mid-Atlantic region have enabled UMUC to establish strong regional and international branding not unlike what the leading for-profit schools have accomplished nationally with aggressive marketing.
“University of Maryland University College is a separate unit in the Maryland system, but it’s been around for a very long time. And it’s a little bit like the University of Phoenix in that it was set up many years ago to cater to the adult education market,” says Dr. Frank Mayadas, the program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and an expert on U.S. higher education online programs.
