University Core On Line

In a move announced last year, Fairleigh Dickinson University has become the first traditional university to require every undergraduate student to take one online course for every 32 credits of study. President J. Michael Adams said, “We believe the Internet is an important research, communication and learning tool, and students need to become proficient in its use.”

The Global Challenge, which is a redesigned version of University Core IV—Global Issues, features new readings available on the Web. It will be taken within the first two semesters and will satisfy the distance-learning requirement for the freshman year.

Approximately 325 students have enrolled in the 18 sections offered this fall, and about 350 students are expected to participate in the 20 sections available in the spring. Full-time faculty will teach 80–90 percent of these courses. To help ensure an effective initiation of the program, two pilot sections of the course ran this summer.

With the beginning of the program, the University is introducing members of global virtual faculty to help teach The Global Challenge and other online courses. While full-time, on-site faculty will be the primary instructors, they will partner with numerous scholars and renowned experts throughout the world to bring diverse perspectives to students. “Our philosophy is not to use the Internet to reach students from around the world, but to use the Internet to bring the world to our students,” Adams said.

Twelve global virtual faculty will participate this semester, and more are being recruited for future offerings. Among those included this semester are: Kumar Ketkar, India (political science); Nadi Edwards, Jamaica (literature); Jacob Lomranz, Israel (psychology); Yasuo Suzuki, Japan (chemistry); and Cheng Ming Yu, Malaysia (economics). Nominations are continually being sought for global virtual faculty to teach The Global Challenge and other online courses. An online nomination form can be found at www.globaleducation.edu.
Adams added that considering Fairleigh Dickinson’s mission to school global citizens, this course will provide an excellent foundation for students. “Not only will they gain knowledge of major global issues, but they will look through the eyes of global scholars and practitioners who have first-hand experience with these issues.”

In their sophomore year, these students will be required to take an online course within their colleges. Then, over the next two-to-three years, every academic department will be offering online distance-learning courses.

FDU · news and publications · calendar of events · help