Next week the University will hold its first 'Virtual Open Day' for students wishing to study one of our growing portfolio of online courses.
The University has an objective to become a leading provider of online education by 2020 and a number of our online programmes are already proving extremely popular.
At this time of year the focus is often on welcoming postgraduate students to campus, but not everyone who wants to undertake further study can do so full-time or away from home. Our online courses offer an alternative solution which fits around family life and work commitments so that they can study anywhere and in their own time.
Our ever expanding portfolio ranges from short courses to full Master’s programmes, covering a whole range of subjects from business and engineering, to education, finance, health, and law. The courses which are proving most popular are those which respond to a gap in the education market, or where we can offer unique expertise. For example, programmes in Decommissioning and in Health Economics have attracted strong interest from professionals who wish to further their careers. Meanwhile our Scottish Heritage programme is appealing to those who have a keen interest in history and want to study the subject in a more structured way.
Professor Peter McGeorge, Vice-Principal (Learning & Teaching) said: “Flexibility is key to our online offering. Learning is a lifelong process but if learning is to be facilitated then it has to fit in with life. We are expanding the range of courses and programmes we offer online and are developing these in a way which enables students to take just one course or several at a time, studying just for interest or studying to meet the needs of their career, building towards a full degree.”
Dr Gillian Mackintosh, Director of Online Education & Academic Development said: “As online learners will frequently be juggling their studies alongside their busy lives, it is critical that we ensure that we provide a high quality student experience which recognizes their different support needs and expectations. Within MyAberdeen online learners will be presented with easy access to user-friendly routes for support.”
If you want to find out more about the online programmes and courses that the University offers, please see our dedicated online learning pages at www.abdn.ac.uk/study/online where you can also find details of our virtual open day on Thursday 24 August.