News

UC Student, Chevon Janczuk, Savors Her Slice of the Orange

Student researcher. Believer in second chances. Mother of four. Chevon dropped out of high school as a sophomore and found most career pathways closed to her. Then she made the life-changing decision to enroll at Syracuse University as a part-time student. She’s now pursuing a dual degree in social work and psychology with a 3.9 GPA. Her ultimate goal? To be an advocate for incarcerated citizens and a role model for her children.

“My kids are my world,” she says, “and my hope is that one day all of them will go to college. I think I’m setting a good example for them. Whenever they see the Syracuse ‘S’ they say, ‘That’s mommy’s school!’” she says. That pride goes both ways. “To me, being Orange means every slice of the orange is different, but somehow we are all able to come together and be part of something bigger. It means taking people from all walks of life, with diverse perspectives and goals, and squeezing them into one giant community where everyone is welcomed and accepted.”

Read Chevon’s full story here

New Online Courses Offered this Summer

ELI Instructor teaching online classThrough the combined efforts of The College of Arts & Sciences and Maxwell, eight new courses will be available in University College’s signature eight-week online format this summer. These courses include weekly, live synchronous sessions that connect students with the instructor and peers to form a community of learning within each course. The unique course structure allows students to engage in asynchronous learning modules, assignments and assessments between live sessions, allowing them to balance home, work and academic schedules. The expansion of these online offerings allows students more options for meeting the liberal studies core requirements and program electives. These new courses will launch in the Summer 8-week II session which begins July 6, 2020.

They are: MAT 121, Probability and Statistics for the Liberal Arts I; ANT 185, Global Encounters; HTW 12,  Personal and Social Health; ECN 101, Intro to Microeconomics; HST 111, Early Modern Europe; GEO 372, Political Geography; PSC 363, Ethics and International Relations and SWK 328, Human Diversity in Social Contexts.

Enrollment in Project Management Minor is Growing Steadily

Full-time and part-time matriculated undergraduate students can now add a minor in Project Management to complement and enhance their existing program. The 18-credit minor is delivered completely online in an 8-week session and is designed to help students explore foundations, organizational leadership, methodologies, and the communications techniques of project management.

The Project Management minor is administered by University College and is open to all Syracuse University undergraduate students who are in good standing.

For more information visit professionalstudies.syracuse.edu, email parttime@syr.edu, or call 315-443-9378.

The Center for Online & Digital Learning

Behind the scenes photo of recording in studioThe Center for Online & Digital Learning, launched in 2017, continues to respond to the growing demand for quality online programming at Syracuse University. The Center includes two state-of-the-art video production studios that incorporate animation, graphics and assessment to create an interactive experience for optimal learning. Currently, 23 staff members develop programs for six schools/colleges throughout the university. Instructional designers, multi-media specialists, videographers, quality assurance specialists, educational technologists and directors offer expertise in design, technology, education, graphic art and project management.

As faculty have had to move their courses from residential to online, the Center has been responsive to ensure academic continuity. Working with the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and ITS, the Center for Online and Digital Learning is providing expertise in delivering tools, resources and working with faculty to design courses that are interactive, engaging and meeting course learning objectives.

New Prior Learning Assessment Course Offered to Qualifying Students

A Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) pilot program, created through a partnership between University College and the School of Education, was launched in the fall 2019 semester. The PLA program evaluates students’ knowledge gained through professional experience to determine if they qualify for college credits. University College academic advisor Jason Scharf and School of Education instructor Jason Curry joined forces to teach the 8-week course which is offered completely online with one live session each week. Through reflection and guidance, the students create a portfolio that can be used to request certain college credits that may apply toward their program of study, explains  Scharf.

Scharf said the portfolio equips students with tangible, well-documented evidence of their past accomplishments which can be used for future educational and professional pursuits. The course will be taught again in the fall 2020 semester. For more information, students can contact University College by calling 315.443.3261 or emailing parttime@syr.edu.