Ashland University Adds Live Online Courses for Master’s Program

8/27/2012 ASHLAND, Ohio – For those people who are looking for a graduate degree program that will fit the busy schedule of a teacher, Ashland University has added live online courses for its Master of Arts program in American History and Government.

“This program offers the convenience of an online course with the interaction of a traditional classroom,” said Christian Pascarella, director of the MA program. “These courses meet via web conference once per week for eight weeks on a weekday evening or on a Saturday morning.”

Pascarella said students with access to a high-speed internet connection will use a standard web browser and webcam, which will allow them to be seen and heard in the online classroom and able to interact with the professor as well as fellow students.

“Unlike typical online courses in which students correspond with instructors and other students via online bulletin boards, often waiting days for a response, our students and professors are connected in real-time,” Pascarella said. “With live online, when you ask a question you will get an immediate response and you can share your thoughts immediately with the class.”

With the addition of live online courses, Ashland University’s MA program, which is the nation’s only liberal arts program designed especially for secondary school social studies teachers, is now even more convenient to working professionals, according to Pascarella.

“With a combination of online and intensive summer study, students could earn their MA degree in as few as 15 months,” he said. “The courses also are open to students taking individual courses for teacher licensure or recertification, personal enrichment or for transfer to other institutions.”

Pascarella said the program courses are taught by distinguished faculty, some of whom are the same as those who teach in the University’s summer semester program.

“The faculty of our live online courses will include full-time faculty from Ashland University's own Department of History and Political Science, as well as well-known and widely published visiting history and political science faculty from other institutions across the country,” Pascarella said.

He noted that each course focuses on the study of original historical documents and is open to teachers, community college faculty, K-12 curriculum planners, legislative staffers and others with a professional or personal interest in the history and government of the United States.

The program’s second fall session will be held from Oct. 13 to Dec. 8. For more information or to register, contact mahg@ashland.edu or call 419.289.5411.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities category for 2012, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###