Education is a fundamentally societal aspect and even if obtaining a degree may be millions of high school graduates’ goals in the U.S., it isn’t obvious for students to complete higher educational paths.
According to a report published by California Competes in February 2021, more than 2.5 million Californians ages 25-54 have attended college without completing a bachelor’s degree.
Financial difficulties, busy work schedules and family complications are aspects that influence whether or not students complete bachelor’s degrees.
San Jose State announced in an Aug. 8 news release that it will establish a solution to that problem after considering the California Competes report.
Admissions for the new “SJSU Online” begins on Sept. 1 and is designed for California students who need flexibility in their schedules, according to the same news release.
Ronald Rogers, university interim vice provost for academic innovations and online initiatives, said SJSU Online will comprehend five undergraduate programs.
The three new bachelor’s degree online programs include economics, anthropology and interdisciplinary engineering, which will be joined with two already-existing online programs: interdisciplinary studies, educational and community leadership and information science and data analytics.
“The goal is to expand the number of degree programs at SJSU Online,” Rogers said. “We are planning to offer more opportunities to our students.”
While the new online program only permits Californians to apply, the university intends to expand the applicant pool to other states in the future, according to the SJSU news release.
There will be three rolling admission cycles and students may begin classes as early as January on two-to-three year roadmaps, according to the news release.
“The mission of this program is to provide access to education to all those students who face difficulties attending regular classes,” said Ronald Rogers, SJSU interim vice provost for academic innovations and online initiatives. “We want to provide a flexible schedule in order to make it possible for students to work and study at the same time.”
Rogers said students who don’t complete their educational paths are often “forced” to do so.
He said the impossibility of attending classes in person is often related to the interruption of the studies for many students.
“Traditional instruction modalities are not accessible to everybody,” Rogers said. “There are students who cannot move to our campus, while others are not able to attend classes every day of the week and for this reason, we worked to grant access to education and degrees to those students.”
He said SJSU Online’s instruction modality will be online asynchronous to provide the students with the flexibility they need to get degrees.
“Flexibility is one of the central aspects that made me choose SJSU Online,” said Jennifer Salinas, SJSU senior who’s been majoring in interdisciplinary studies, educational and community leadership since Fall 2021. “As a student worker, it is essential to have asynchronous instruction [because] it helps with a busy work schedule.”
Salinas said while asynchronous instruction can lead to distractions and lack of social relationships, she doesn’t experience many impediments with online learning.
“Personally, I have no hard times with distractions while studying,” she said. “It is up to the student to manage his or her time in order to be able to obtain good results.”
Salinas said even though online classes that she previously had during SJSU’s online and hybrid modalities were asynchronous, she had occasional Zoom meetings per the professors’ syllabi.
“When I started the online degree program in Fall 2021, we were less than 30 people,” she said. “It was really easy and natural to get in touch and build up a strong group even if we are online.”
Rey Penate, SJSU senior director of online recruitment, said it’s ultimately up to the professor if they wish to arrange a few Zoom meetings though the classes will be effectively 100% online.
Penate said even if SJSU Online is built to be an asynchronous instruction modality, it is fundamental to not let students feel alone.
He said the program will offer solid and concrete support to the students starting at the beginning of their university careers.
“Enrollment counselors help students with their registration,” Penate said. “Then, once they are admitted to the program, they will meet program advisers in order to choose the proper educational path for their future.”
He said students will also have regular check-ins with their advisers and counselors.
Ronald Rogers said SJSU Online also focuses on getting students internships.
“Although there is not an internship program for our students, we have a staff [that is] recruiting students who desire to take an internship and we connect them to companies and organizations, offering internship positions,” Rogers said.
