UCOnline Receives $13.2 Million Investment Boost from the Offices of the President and Provost

Continuing its commitment to the growth of UCOnline, the offices of the president and provost in partnership with the office of administration and finance announced today the expansion of the university’s online learning program with a nine-year investment of more than $13.2 million.

“Over 80 percent of our recent graduates have taken at least one online course,” said Interim President Beverly Davenport. “A priority in our university’s Creating Our Third Century vision is to reimagine the student experience, including learning spaces. Our investments in online learning are meeting students where they are and enhancing their ability to complete a college degree.”

Currently, 12 UC colleges provide online learning options ranging from graduate and undergraduate degree programs, certificates to course offerings. The prominent format is online, where 100 percent of teaching and learning activities occur both synchronously and asynchronously via the internet.

“With this investment, the Office of the Provost is building a hub and spoke system that originates from the academic core of UC so that we can bring to life faculty ingenuity and resources into online education,” said Interim Provost Peter Landgren. “At the same time this allows us to further our global approach to learning, which enables anyone anywhere to join our Bearcat family,” Landgren said.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the past decade has seen an increase in enrollment to universities with about 12 million college students under the age of 25 and 8.2 million students 25 years old and over enrolled in 2014. With more people pursuing higher education, online learning is an integral part of the UC’s approach to meeting the diverse needs of students by combining access and convenience with high-quality education.

"E-learning has been a cornerstone of our college, as it is critical to the future of our college and the university,” said Larry Johnson, dean of the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. “This is an opportunity to build our infrastructure and give us greater control and ability to extend our online offerings."

Realizing the potential of a digital equivalent of UC’s learning experience,

the Office of the Provost

is seeking a Vice Provost for Digital Learning, a new position created to provide leadership in achieving the goals of UCOnline, which includes expanding online education opportunities, growing online education enrollment nationally and internationally, and increasing collaboration among UC’s campuses and colleges in the development, administration and marketing of distance education degrees and certificate programs.

For more information on

the vacancy and how to apply visit the UC job web page.