Penn State's World Campus is offering an online associate degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management. This is the World Campus's first associate degree program.
Penn State's School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management and the restaurant industry have designed the new program to respond to the food service industry's critical workforce needs for leaders and managers. The 66- to 68-credit associate degree program targets employees in commercial food service and other areas of the hospitality industry who are interested in increasing their management skills and preparing themselves for supervisory positions.
In addition to Penn State, the partnership offering the new program involves the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's ProMgmt program and Eat 'n Park Restaurants Inc. Eat 'n Park currently mentors the program's first five students -- all employees of the Pittsburgh-based company.
Currently, the World Campus -- which uses information technology to extend some of Penn State's signature academic programs around the world -- is offering programs to more than 600 students. Launched in 1998 by the end of its fifth year the World Campus plans to offer 25-30 programs, comprising more than 300 courses and reaching an estimated 10,000 students through its Internet-based technologies.
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Students considering taking a distance education class from the World Campus get their "campus visit" and orientation by logging on to their computer. Faculty pondering teaching an online course can also get help.
"World Campus 101," a free online course, provides students with the information they need to be productive and successful as distance education students. It isn't about course specifics; it focuses on basic requirements and logistics. It also is used as a resource to help potential students decide whether the World Campus could be for them.
In many ways, World Campus 101 is similar to the traditional campus orientation. Students can learn how to get help when they need it, and how to prepare assignments. They can even take a virtual tour of the University Park campus, "visiting" popular landmarks and buildings -- such as the Nittany Lion Shrine.
But instead of tips on how to get along with a roommate, the online course offers "netiquette" suggestions, like "Using all CAPS is perceived as shouting." Rather than just encouraging classroom participation, World Campus 101 has an exercise designed to teach students how to compose messages on online bulletin boards; how to communicate with their instructors and other students; it orients them to software features; helps them access the Libraries; and suggests how many hours to spend on each class.
The orientation doesn't stop with students. Many faculty are also unfamiliar with teaching virtual courses, so the World Campus also has an online course titled "Faculty Development 101." Entrants to this site must be registered users.
For more information, contact Gary Miller, associate vice president for distance education and executive director of the World Campus, at (814) 863-3248. You can visit World Campus 101 at http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu:8900/public/wc101.