VSU Expands Online Degree Programs at Undergraduate and Graduate Levels

VALDOSTA-- The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents recently approved an online Master of Arts in Literature and Language and a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership at Valdosta State University. Classes for both degrees are set to begin fall 2011.

The online Master of Arts in Literature and Language is designed for students with distance and time constraints, particularly public school teachers who want to expand their content knowledge in areas of contemporary English studies, including literature, rhetoric, composition, linguistics, and creative writing.

“This degree will attract students state-wide and nationally,” said English Department Head Mark Smith. “Valdosta State has a good academic reputation and this online master’s program will continue the tradition. It is designed with the time constraints of public school teachers. They will find the program to be as intense and rigorous as the master’s in English, which is offered in the traditional classroom setting.”

VSU also offers a Master of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Arts in English administered in the traditional classroom setting.

The online Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership will focus on the practices, theories, issues, parameters, and specific ramifications of organizational leadership.

Offered under Valdosta State’s Adult and Military Programs, the new online bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership includes concentrations specializing in public service, law enforcement leadership, legal office administration, and general office management and technology.

“The program allows Valdosta State to offer an online bachelor’s degree that meets the needs of full-time professionals who do not have the time or opportunity to leave work for classes,” said Director of Adult and Military Programs Jerry Merwin. “The program offers a variety of options for people looking to advance their careers or begin a new one.”

Merwin said the organizational leadership degree has options that allow adults to earn college credits from a variety of work experience, professional training, military service and professional certificate programs. These experiences are presented in a portfolio that contains sufficient supporting information and documentation to affirm college-level learning.

A 2010 Sloan survey of online learning revealed that 5.6 million students--approximately 30% of all college and university students-- now take at least one online course.

For more than a decade, VSU has offered online graduate programs including education specialists, master’s level education degrees, and a Doctor of Public Administration. Earlier this year, VSU announced its first two undergraduate online degrees in Office Administration and Technology and Criminal Justice.

Learn more about VSU’s online degrees at http://www.valdosta.edu/distance/online_degrees.shtml