Joan Griffin, graduate student at Blue Marble University, tells why she thinks a virtual university like Blue Marble has an important role in education.
“When I decided to finish my doctorate through a virtual university, I did not know much about the way a virtual program works. I understood that most of the work would be done via the Internet. This was especially appealing to me because the work that I did could be done at my convenience in my home. It would also provide a versatile education that would be suited to me.
Besides the convenience of the Internet, the opportunity to use multimedia technologies is another concept of virtual learning. I will know that I am doing a real project to earn my degree, but it will be in my own style and structure. It will have purpose and significance for me.
While virtual colleges and universities have been in existence since 1971, there was s great amount of skepticism this kind of education could be conformed to the needs of students. In less than nine years, over 70,000 students were enrolled, and at lest 6,000 students were graduating via a virtual program.
Tiffin and Rajasingham in their book, The Global Virtual University, published in 2003 wrote extensively about the global university, and the effect this type of education was having on the educational pipeline. I believe more and more universities and colleges will start virtual programs for students.
My only wish would be that tuition costs would also be considered. A virtual program will offer more students the opportunity to receive an education. I am so glad that I discovered Blue Marble University. This change in education is definitely an improvement over the traditional college education.
The following excerpt from Lush (2010), The Virtual University: Issues for administrators, ‘A post-secondary educational environment, delivered electronically through a communications medium, which mimics a real-world post-secondary environment in every aspect, resulting in an educational experience equivalent to one normally received by attending the same university in the physical world.‘ This is an accurate summate of what a Virtual University is.”
[Note: Joan S. Griffin has been an educator for 26 years. Her core beliefs are that the quality of the services of the education profession directly influence the nation and its citizens, and that the roles of the educator are to be coach, teacher, counselor, facilitator, director, and sometimes, parent. She graduated the Dissertation-Only PhD program in 2017 with the creation of her lively and entertaining book, “A Teacher’s Life”, in process of publication by Nook Press: ATeachersLife
Further information about Blue Marble University online programs can be found at: https://bluemarbleuniversity.com/academics/departments-and-degree-programs/
Blue Marble University is a virtual university incorporated in the Commonwealth of Dominica to offer educational programs leading to the issuance of degrees upon the recommendation of its Faculty. It continues to develop as a model for what a virtual university should be. The doctoral degrees offered by Blue Marble University, a foreign educational institution, consist of 72 trimester credits. Because of this, they are therefore considered equivalent to that of a regionally accredited USA college or university, and can be used for most employment purposes in the USA and elsewhere.
Blue Marble University 