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Online education has moved into the mainstream in the United States higher learning educational system, with enrollments increasing more rapidly than on many university campuses. The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University began offering a Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Science (FWS) completely online in autumn 2009, which resulted in numerous questions from potential students, educators, and fish and wildlife professionals. We provide an overview of our distance education (DE) degree and characterize our DE learners. The DE degree itself is the same as the on-campus major but the curriculum is slightly different; online students have fewer choices in classes and hands-on activities, but engage in more discussion than on-campus students. Our DE students differ from on-campus majors: they are on average 9 years older, 40% have a college degree, and 20% are employed by a natural resources agency. The value of our online FWS BS ultimately will be gauged by the success of our graduates and feedback from stakeholders. © 2011 The Wildlife Society. |
