ANNUAL REPORT 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
ANNUAL REPORT 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
ANNUAL REPORT 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
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13<br />
EXPANDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES<br />
Distance education programs help students<br />
who cannot come to main campus or choose<br />
to take alternative-format classes to obtain<br />
their degrees. Students can access courses<br />
online, via interactive television, through<br />
correspondence or face-to-face at eight<br />
statewide education centers. During the<br />
last academic school year, UNM distance<br />
education programs served approximately<br />
3,000 students with over 7,000 enrollments.<br />
More than 200 students received their<br />
degrees because of opportunities created<br />
through UNM’s Extended University.<br />
UNM also invests in upper division<br />
and graduate programs at its four branch<br />
campuses and in partnership with other<br />
community colleges in New Mexico. This<br />
start-to-finish, close-to-home model is critical<br />
for students who want to graduate from<br />
UNM but cannot relocate to Albuquerque.<br />
According to Extended University Vice<br />
Provost Jerry Dominguez, because<br />
many communities in New Mexico are<br />
having difficulty recruiting and retaining<br />
teachers, UNM Extended University is<br />
offering College of Education degree<br />
completion programs at UNM branch<br />
campuses in Taos, Valencia and Gallup,<br />
and the San Juan Center in Farmington.<br />
The Extended University bachelor of<br />
studies program allows students to earn<br />
a degree by building a curriculum suited to<br />
their individual goals. “The BUS degree is<br />
popular because it is crafted based on the<br />
economic needs of individual communities,”<br />
Dominguez says.<br />
The public administration program offers<br />
a degree designed for public sector and<br />
nonprofit agencies, with human resources<br />
and public management concentrations<br />
that are key to city government. The master<br />
of public administration is available to<br />
students statewide through UNM distance<br />
education programs.<br />
Faculty and administrators in the School<br />
of Engineering have developed a master<br />
of science in electrical and computer<br />
engineering that is accessible online.<br />
“This is a user-friendly option for working<br />
students,” Dominguez says.<br />
Likewise, the College of Nursing has<br />
developed RN to BSN degree completion<br />
programs now available statewide through<br />
Extended University, thus addressing the<br />
urgent need for qualified nurses in diverse<br />
communities across New Mexico.