$3.9 Million State Appropriation Aids Distance-Learning Program

“We have made a major strategic commitment to distance learning as part of our global education mission,” said President J. Michael Adams. “The state funding will further expand our digital infrastructure capabilities, provide programmatic support and accelerate our leadership position.” 

Michael Sperling, the associate provost for interdisciplinary, distributed and global learning, said the appropriation will “fully fund all of the cost of the distance-learning program for this fiscal year, thereby freeing up University resources for other expenses and University needs.” These monies are in addition to regular state aid received by FDU and the other New Jersey institutions and represent a “significant benefit for the University’s technological progress,” he added. 

Specifically, special appropriation will be used for faculty training, course development and building the global virtual faculty, Sperling said. In addition, a portion of the money will be used to develop the University portal on the Blackboard™ system used for the distance- learning courses, provide Internet cafés on both campuses and establish a laptop loaner program at the libraries. 

Another portion of the aid will be dedicated to online course delivery and technology-enhancements within the Peter Sammartino School of Education. 

This semester, Fairleigh Dickinson kicked off its innovative distance-learning program, which requires each undergraduate student to take one online course every 32 credits. The program also features online study with global virtual faculty members — a cadre of distinguished scholars and practitioners from around the world. 
The first required course is University Core A — The Global Challenge. In their sophomore years, students will take an online course within their college. Then, over the next two years, every academic department will be offering distance learning courses. 
Adams added, “This great, new financial support reflects both the energy of our new strategic initiatives and the confidence of the acting governor and New Jersey State Legislature in the mission and future of Fairleigh Dickinson University.”

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