New technologies, same great 程序: 体育菠菜大平台’s online Biology M.S. 庆祝20年的卓越

的 内布拉斯加大学 at Kearney’s online Biology M.S. 程序 is celebrating two decades of educating students through an online format. 
  
的 程序 was developed in 五月 of 2003, making it older than the majority of 体育菠菜大平台’s incoming freshman.  
 
“I believe we are the oldest fully online Biology M.S. 生物学硕士课程.S. Online Program Coordinator Brian Peterson said. 
 
几十年来, the 程序 and technology has evolved with the times but the rigor and passion that the professors show towards their 程序 and students have stayed consistently strong. 
 
“During our first several years, VHS tapes were the current technology,” Peterson explained. “Faculty would tape their lectures in front of on-campus graduate students in large taping rooms housed across campus in the communications and education buildings.” 
 
For those who were not around from the 70s to the early 2000s, a VHS tape is a rectangular object with film inside. 你可以看电影, or in this case your professors’ lectures, by inserting the VHS into a device called a VCR which was hooked up to a television. 
  
“I would then collect the boxes of VHS tapes, which ranged from 5-10 VHS tapes per student per class, box them up and mail them to each student,彼得森继续说.  
 
体育菠菜大平台’s online Biology 程序 made the necessary changes to stay up to date with online education’s best practices and technology, which is a major reason the 程序 has been successful throughout the years. 
 
“我们从VHS录像带开始, 到dvd, 到在线流媒体,” Professor and Co-Chair of 体育菠菜大平台’s Biology Department Dr. 金伯利·卡尔森说. 

Not only has the technology within the 程序 enhanced throughout the years, 但课程选择也是如此. 
 
的 online 程序 started out with a handful of elective course offerings but now has more than 70门选修课 to allow students the ability to create a 程序 that fits their educational and career goals. 
 
“We have enough diversity in our course offerings and flexibility in the 程序 that students can tailor the 程序 to fit their needs,” Associate Professor and Director of 体育菠菜大平台’s Biology M.S. 博士项目. 奥斯汀·纳克索说. 
 
“We are always looking for ways to improve the 程序,” Robyn Schoenebeck, another 
 online coordinator for the 程序, added. 
 
的 department is rich with experienced and knowledgeable faculty who truly want what is best for their students. Professors often make improvements to the 程序 based on student feedback. 
 
“例如, students were interested in 8-week classes during the fall and spring semesters, so we have begun offering a couple of classes in this format and they have been popular.  We plan to continue doing this in future semesters,” Schoenebeck explained. 
 
One thing that 体育菠菜大平台’s online Biology 程序 is not willing to change is the rigor, 学生关注, 以及在线课程的质量.  
 
Seven years prior to Nuxoll accepting a teaching position at 体育菠菜大平台, he was a student who received DVDs through the mail from 体育菠菜大平台’s online Biology 程序. 
 
“One way it has stayed the same is from my early interactions as a student, the 程序 has had quality professors that provide rigor to challenge students but are compassionate to a variety of student backgrounds and needs. We still see that from our faculty today,” Nuxoll said. 
 
Nuxoll utilized the 程序 as a transition to receive his Ph.D. With so many unique and specific course offerings, the 程序 can be used in many ways for students. 

“Many use the 程序 to get ahead in their high school teaching careers, but others use it as a steppingstone to Ph.D. 程序s or to industry jobs,” Dean of Arts and Sciences Dr. 保罗·特威格说.  
 
“We have had students from nearly every state work towards their M.S. 与我们, and with all different professions and goals: high school teachers, 实验室主管和技术人员, 保护, 野生动物和渔业, those in or looking to get into the health or medical field, 或者变成Ph.D. and teach at the college or university level,” said Peterson. 
 
However students decide to utilize their 体育菠菜大平台 online Biology M.S. 学位, they are receiving customized education from knowledgeable and caring professors that will allow them to succeed in their educational and career goals. 
 
“的 online Biology 程序 is one of 体育菠菜大平台’s premier graduate 程序s,” Dean of 最大的菠菜的平台学习和学术推广 Dr. 马克·埃利斯说. “It was one of 体育菠菜大平台’s first fully online 程序s and for almost 20 years it has helped drive 体育菠菜大平台 graduate enrollment. I have seen firsthand the progress this 程序 has made over the last two decades and I cannot wait to see what the coming years will bring."