A+B. Intro_SJ.1 - University of Maryland University College

Academic Quality
UMUC’s commitment to academic strength, relevance, and quality remains consistent
throughout all the university’s programs, class locations, and delivery formats. The
university works closely with its faculty and with business and other organizations to
develop and maintain the relevance of its curricula. The university’s academic programs
have the same structure and requirements whether they are offered in Maryland classrooms,
at overseas locations, or through online courses.
UMUC is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States
Association of Colleges and Schools (3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
phone 215-662-5606).
Experienced Faculty
UMUC’s faculty is unique in that most are working professionals who bring current
expertise in their fields to the classroom as well as an impressive academic background.
They also receive an extraordinary amount of support in training and resources to help
them address the special needs of both the online classroom and the adult learner.
Scholarly Activities
UMUC is recognized as a world leader in the fields of adult and distance education.
UMUC’s Office of Distance Education and Lifelong Learning (ODELL) supports
UMUC faculty in every aspect of their work, hosts conferences and workshops, develops
resource materials, and seeks grants to further the technologies and pedagogies
associated with lifelong learning. ODELL houses the Center for Teaching and
Learning, the Institute for Research and Assessment in Higher Education, the Center
for Intellectual Property and Copyright in the Digital Environment, and the Institute
for Distance Education.
Further activities are carried out by the Institute for Environmental Management,
which provides educational services in the field of environmental management to individuals
and corporations, and the Institute for Global Management, which conducts
research and provides training on topics central to the management of international enterprises.
Further information on these institutes may be found on p. 10.
Recognition
UMUC’s online programs have received awards from several notable organizations,
including E-Gov, Forbes.com, Maryland Distance Learning Association, and the
University Continuing Education Association. In fall 2001, UMUC was the proud
recipient of the highest honor in online education—the Sloan Consortium Award for
Excellence in Institution-Wide Web-Based Programming, in recognition of its comprehensive
online curriculum. Recently a number of graduate curricula have also been
honored: the National Security Agency designated UMUC a “Center of Excellence” for
its graduate track in information assurance and the National University Continuing
Education Association has presented an award for the Master of Distance Education
program.
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