Posted by From Hendrix Oliomogbe, Benin on
A NIGERIAN, Prof. Tony Ogiamien, has achieved a feat in the United States as the Heritage University, based in Montclair, California, which he founded in 2003 has just been granted a temporary approval to operate as a full fledged on-line university.
A NIGERIAN, Prof. Tony Ogiamien, has achieved a feat in the United States as the Heritage University, based in Montclair, California, which he founded in 2003 has just been granted a temporary approval to operate as a full fledged on-line university.
An overwhelmed Ogiamien, a former dean of Law at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), who was in Nigeria recently, explained that mid-career adults who desired to complete university degrees at their own pace could now do so at the institution.
"Individuals wishing to complete university degrees or improve their skills through professional development are potential candidates," he said.
He remarked that the institution, which was granted approval by the California Bureau for Post-secondary and Vocational Education, meet the needs of motivated, self directed individuals, whose geographic, personal or professional time constraints, prevent them from completing their education in a traditional on-campus programme.
Ogiamien, the first African to achieve such a feat in America, said the uniqueness of the school is that it offers a tailored course of utilising Internet, to provide a new leasing experience outside the traditional classroom.
Undergraduate degrees offered include film studies; Law and Business Administration, while Business Administration, Public Policy and Law are available at graduate level.
Ogiamien disclosed that as a virtual university, the institution, which would eventually be affiliated to Heritage University, Abuja, offers distance education via the latest technology.
His words: "This means that all courses are taken on-line, in a virtual classroom setting. Inside this classroom, students have 24 hours access to course syllabi, course assignment, chat rooms, message boards, course examinations and other course materials. Students may conduct their studies from anywhere there is computer and Internet access worldwide."
In a globalised world, he emphasised, e-learning can reach students located anywhere in the world: Serviceman in Asia, a tanker-driver in Lagos, Nigeria, or a businessman in a neighbouring state or country.
For school drop outs, military personnel stationed in remote areas, individuals who for health reasons are unable to complete their degrees in a traditional classroom setting, employers who wish their employees trained in specific areas without losing the continuity of their service and those who need academic credentials to even promotion or increases in income, he advised that they should take advantage of this on-line degree programme.