September 5, 2003

By Lauren Fischer

Thanks to the Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program, students working toward a master's degree in engineering at any of five universities in Virginia — including U.Va. — can take classes at any of the participating schools.

Now in its 20th year, the collaborative distance-learning program has helped nearly 400 professional engineers improve their skills and career prospects while strengthening the engineering capabilities of private companies and government agencies around the state.

"This distance education program for graduate engineering was one of the first in the nation," said James Groves, U.Va.'s program director who will assume the role of statewide program director this fall. "Even today, many for-profit distance education providers steer away from engineering because of the tough challenge of providing first-class instruction in technical disciplines. But Virginia’s program has served the Commonwealth for 20 years, providing hundreds of students with a quality education in disciplines, such as chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and systems engineering."

The program was launched in 1983 as a response to a call by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for greater technology education opportunities for Virginians. The first class consisted of Charlottesville's Public Broadcasting Station transmitting a materials science lecture to a Virginia Commonwealth University library in Richmond via a one-way video microwave link.

Now, the program's live videoconferencing system enables students from across the state to fulfill their credit hours by "attending" lectures held at other Virginia institutions, while completing the course requirements at their home schools. Students can choose courses from 10 different master's degree programs offered by U.Va., VCU, Virginia Tech, George Mason University and Old Dominion University.

The program’s many success stories include Armand Beaudoin, a Reynolds Metals Co. employee in Richmond, who completed coursework in materials science through the program, went on to earn a doctorate from Cornell University and now teaches as an associate professor at the University of Illinois.

Another program graduate, Kenton Meland, uses his master’s degree in mechanical engineering as manager of aircraft carrier support at the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipbuilding company in Newport News.

"The graduate education certainly prepared me to perform a broader range of tasks," said Meland. "I had the advantage of being exposed to leading technology and design practices. I learned to perform in a fast-paced environment while taking graduate classes and completing a variety of shipyard assignments."

Such diversity of career paths illustrates the relevance and depth of the curriculum, Groves believes. "Long-distance learning can be applied to the academic profession or the corporate world."

Each year yields a new class of 100 to 200 in-state students, many of whom live and work in Northern Virginia and Tidewater, Groves said. The program has grown in visibility and popularity over the years with enrollment last fall up 16 percent from the previous year. The state provides about $1.3 million a year in funding.

A number of students from other states also have benefited from the program. In addition to Virginia, graduates hail from Minnesota, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, New York, Maryland and West Virginia.

Groves believes the program’s growth and success stem from its flexibility and willingness to accommodate the needs of both students and employers.

This fall, U.Va. is expanding its Engineering Physics Masters Program into the long-distance education environment to cater to the needs of employees at the Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren. The center has numerous employees who specialize in math and physics, and the opportunity to secure an advanced, technical education serves both the employers and the employees, Groves said. This year, 28 Dahlgren employees have started U.Va.’s engineering physics program, with other participants scattered around Virginia.

Looking ahead, Groves hopes to improve the program’s capabilities so that students can visit a program’s Web site whenever they want, even at 2 a.m. They’ll be able to watch a missed lecture, download notes, link into interactive tutorials and chat with fellow students.

"This any-time delivery via the Internet is a growing focus for our program," Groves said. "We don’t want to eliminate the live interaction between U.Va .faculty and students. We believe those interactions add real value to our program.

"But we see an important and growing role for online content, and we are working to offer our students a good blend."