The national punchline.

[rollalongFF0304]

Josh Harris has graduated.

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/pr/monitor/ ... index.html

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/pr/monitor/ ... tance.html

[JohnnySwoop '85]

Stripes....Seargent "Big Toe" Hulka said it to Francis aka Psycho. When we get into battle I'll be behind you every step of the way.

[1987alum]

We have a wiinnnnaaaahhh!

[Flipper]

Did Stan Joplin graduate? Can the average UT student spell "graduate"?
Can the average UT student athlete spell "UT". Could they do it if we spotted them the"U"?

Mysteries...so many vexing mysteries...

[hammb]

Josh Harris has graduated.

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/pr/monitor/ ... index.html

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/pr/monitor/ ... tance.html

Good to hear. As I said, I knew he was taking courses, but I had never heard whether or not he had enough to complete his degree. Good for him. I knew he'd make it eventually, but wasn't sure if he had yet.

[BGSUfanatUT]

Did Stan Joplin graduate? Can the average UT student spell "graduate"?
Can the average UT student athlete spell "UT". Could they do it if we spotted them the"U"?

Mysteries...so many vexing mysteries...

I guess I technically mess up ut a lot. But that's because I refuse to use capital letter when refering to toledo or ohio state.

[LakelandRocket]

I'll kill you.

[1987alum]

I'll kill you.

Good call!

[UK Peregrine]

National Punchline. You wish you had a decent line to protect Omar.

Hey, what's up with the Kentucky comment. I didn't even post in this thread. Yuck, yuck, go back to Kentucky. Really, that's weak. By the way KY was voting on a new state slogan and came up with "Unbridled Spirit.". Not bad, but I like some of these better.

Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names

Kentucky: Got Teeth

Kentucky: At Least It's Not West Virginia

Kentucky: Tobacco is to a vegetable

[transfer2BGSU]

Oh, did Josh Harris Grad?

Distance education helps Harris, other BGSU students get their degrees

Josh Harris won’t be picking up his diploma in person Saturday (Aug. 7) at BGSU’s summer graduation ceremonies.

The former Falcon quarterback will be at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., continuing his football education in the training camp of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.

Because a pro prospect’s “post-graduate work” begins well before the annual April draft of collegiate players, let alone the opening of camp in July, Harris wasn’t on campus during spring semester, either. That was when he joined a lengthening list of BGSU students who, for career and other reasons, are finishing their degrees online.

The honorable mention All-American quarterback left Bowling Green soon after being named Most Valuable Player in the Motor City Bowl, where he led the Falcons to a 28-24 win over Northwestern.

After traveling to Mobile, Ala., to play in the Senior Bowl in January, Harris was in Louisiana for two months, working out for scouts in preparation for the draft. At the same time, however, he was taking independent study classes in interpersonal communication—his major—and sport management, and a distance education course in American culture studies.

“I made sure I was lined up before I left (BGSU),” said the Ravens’ sixth-round draft pick, who ended spring semester with a 3.11 cumulative grade point average. He took two more online courses this summer, in sociology and another in sport management, to complete the requirements for his degree in communication.

That wouldn’t have been possible until a year ago, when BGSU began expanding its online offerings in key general education and 300- and 400-level courses needed by students to finish their degree programs, said Dr. Bruce Edwards, associate dean for distance education and international programs.

“Josh is in a unique early participant group because the availability of the courses hasn’t been there before,” said Edwards, noting that courses in the College of Arts and Sciences were particularly targeted for online instruction.

This summer, more than 130 sections of over 90 University courses were scheduled online, doubling the number of sections offered a year ago. In addition, last summer’s total online enrollment of 999 has nearly doubled, to 1,797.

Because not every student’s personal situation is known, it’s hard to say how many are using distance education to complete their degree programs, according to Edwards. But it’s “a growing number,” he said, adding that job and travel demands are among the many factors that may take students away from campus, “and this (online learning) is just a great way to serve them.”

Regardless of degree program, “we would be doing this for any student close to graduation who needs to find a different route to completion,” he said.

That was the case for Harris, who said remaining on campus last spring “wouldn’t have been in the best interest of my football career.” Without the distance education option, he said, “I wouldn’t have been able to graduate (now) because I needed to leave Bowling Green.”

Getting that degree in four years plus a summer term, when many students now need five years to graduate, “speaks about his performance in the classroom,” noted BGSU Athletics Director Paul Krebs.

Being a student-athlete isn’t easy, he said. But in addition to Harris, who may be the most visible recent example of a successful BGSU student-athlete, the University also had several academic All-Americans in 2003-04, including Craig Jarrett in football, Stefanie Wenzel in women’s basketball and D’Arcy McConvey in hockey, Krebs pointed out.

“More than anything, the time demands required to compete at this level require somebody who’s very dedicated and very focused,” he said, citing those student-athletes in particular for their work in both roles.

http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/pr/monitor/ ... index.html

[transfer2BGSU]

Oh, did Josh Harris Grad?

Harris hooks up with BGSU to complete diploma online
By RYAN E. SMITH
BLADE STAFF WRITER


Josh Harris passed his way into the school record books last year as a quarterback for Bowling Green State University, but he wasn't about to pass on his diploma.
So when he decided to pursue his dream of playing pro football, he had to figure out how to continue his education while preparing to play for the Baltimore Ravens, who picked him in the sixth round of the NFL draft in April.

Like an increasing number of college students, Mr. Harris found the answer online.

Though he wasn't on campus in the spring or summer, he took several distance-learning courses from BGSU to complete his bachelor's degree in interpersonal communications, cramming in course work whenever he could.

He won't be back this weekend to pick up his diploma at commencement, but he's happy the online courses made it possible for him to get it in four years.

"It allowed me to do what I needed to do," Mr. Harris said by phone from the Ravens' training camp in Maryland. "I knew I wanted to do it so that I could still finish. The sooner you can finish, the better."

Mr. Harris is far from alone in his virtual education, an area of incredible growth for area colleges and universities.

At BGSU, distance-learning course enrollment has nearly doubled from 900 students last summer to 1,700 this summer.

Owens Community College has more than 2,400 students signed up for Web courses this fall, an enormous increase from 254 in the fall of 2000.

The University of Toledo, a state leader in the field, projects it will have a distance-learning enrollment of 4,414 students this fall - not bad for an online program that had 200 students in 1998.

A report on distance learning in Ohio is expected this fall from the Ohio Board of Regents.

"I think most people who are using online learning certainly realize the potential to use technology in learning is very big, and we're probably just in the middle of the road in understanding how big," said Kate Carey, executive director of the Ohio Learning Network.

College officials and students point to the convenience of Web-based classes for students who increasingly have to juggle classes, work, and family.

Despite the growth, though, BGSU has been cautious about developing its programs.

"There's a real concern about quality and about making sure that as we go into online learning we are offering the same experience to these students that we offer them if they came to campus," said Linda Dobb, executive vice president.

Like other schools, BGSU's online programs go through a review process just like traditional classes. The process is abbreviated if a traditional class is simply being converted into an online program, she said.

A residential campus catering to younger students, BGSU primarily uses distance learning as a means of keeping them connected during the summer and allowing people like Mr. Harris to complete their degrees.

BGSU has about 110 courses and one degree completely online - advanced technological education, a bachelor's degree for adults with an associate degree and work experience. Officials aim to add a couple more in the next few years, as well as a few master's and associate degrees, Ms. Dobb said.

About 80 percent of students in distance learning also are enrolled in traditional classes, said Karen Rhoda, director of the division of distance and eLearning at UT, which will have 232 online courses this fall. "They are doing that in order to balance their schedules," she said. "More are working, supporting themselves through college."

Mark Karamol, division director of e-Learning at Owens, said it's an attractive option to younger students taking other courses at its Perrysburg Township and Findlay campuses. "Classes fill up; parking is a problem. They like, I think, the convenience of taking courses online. These courses often fill faster than any other courses," he said.

And it fits the lifestyles of older, nontraditional students too.

"They need the flexibility that distance learning provides," Mr. Karamol said. "It adjusts well for their schedule."

Contact Ryan E. Smith at: [email protected] or 419-724-6074.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 2361003433

[LakelandRocket]

Bill Gates - No Degree
Joplin - No Degree
Stev Jobs No Degree
Tim Conway Degree
Fmr Treasurer Snow Degree
Josh Harris Online Degree!

Great,

Thanks for the education!

Whats with the unibomber worried about Toledo Trollers?

[LakelandRocket]

Never thought we could have so much fun with Bruce NeverGraduatekowski.

Cheers,

All you BG Trollers - I am co-oping in Cincy. YOU know who you are!
Blah Blah Blah - Lighten up Francis. LOL

[Dayons_Den]

Joplin seriously did not graduate and is now a D1 head coach?

Any chance he will finish his degree? I assume he gets a tuition waiver. . .

[BGSUfanatUT]

he cant even graduate his players, and you think HE will get a degree?