Online education widens options for students
Cal State San Bernardino seeks partnership with Korean universities
.jpg?w=728)
Tomas D. Morales
By Chung Hyun-chae
California State University, San Bernardino, focuses on expanding its online education to give students more options, its president said.
“Online education is a viable option for students who, for example, have to work, raise a family or cannot attend regular classes,” Tomas D. Morales, president of California State University, San Bernardino, said in an interview with The Korea Times at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul, Nov. 8.
The university runs an online MBA program as well as a program in criminal justice and master’s program in social work.
The MBA program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), a globally-recognized business school certification body.
According to the president, about 20-30 students take the online MBA course every quarter.
“Our school’s motto is widening access, and that’s what online education does,” said Dr. Tatiana Karmanova, dean of the College of Extended Learning at the university. “Not every student has access to a quality educational program; online education gives them this access.”
The president and the dean visited Seoul from Nov. 2 to 8 to meet faculties of the partner schools including Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), University of Seoul, and Chung-Ang and Dankook universities.
They have run a lot of exchange programs.
“We have 38 students coming to Dankook for four weeks every year and they also send their students to our campus,” Karmanova said.
During their visit, they especially tried to seek opportunities to work with new partners, one of which is Seoul Cyber University, to strengthen their online programs.
“We are in discussions at this stage with Seoul Cyber University to look at how we can partner to benefit students of both countries,” Morales said.
“We’ll see several opportunities after finding common areas of interest and come to understand the needs of each institution’s capabilities,” Karmanova added.
On Nov. 5, they also attended a meeting of their university’s Korean alumni, with almost 100 alumni participating.
“I want to make the event, which is the first, a regular event which may be held every three to five years,” Morales said.
According to the president, more than 100 Korean students are studying at the university, who account for about 15 percent of the total of international students.
The university has two Korean student organizations that are active in holding various cultural activities.
Morales said he is committed to fostering diversity at the university, stressing the university’s environment where students can talk about their differences and embrace others.
“When students come to our campus, they have a chance to interact with students of different backgrounds from different countries,” he said.
Morales is sure that one of the strengths of the university is it’s global approach in two ways: sending students abroad and welcoming students on the campus.
“Today, whether you are a student from Korea or from San Bernardino, you should study abroad,” Morales said. “We obviously live in a global society, and we, as a university are committed to internationalizing our curriculum, and to value the diversity of all of our students.”
For this, the president established a special scholarship to encourage students to travel and study abroad. Any student who wants to study overseas can receive a $500 scholarship from the school.
The number of students who have benefitted from the scholarship stands at more than 200 so far.
“The $500 is a modest amount but it’s symbolic to support international travel and study,” Morales said.
According to him, the number of students who went abroad last year increased over 50 percent from the year before.
“We make sure that not only domestic students but also international students can have chances to see other parts of the worlds as part of their educational experience,” Karmanova added.