The Sloan Consortium will honor Penn State's institution-wide online education curriculum and the achievements of an online education leader on Nov. 10
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State is the winner of two 2011 Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) awards for online teaching and learning. The Excellence in Institution-Wide Online Education Award honors Penn State's World Campus, and the Outstanding Achievement in Online Education by an Individual recognizes Wayne Smutz, executive director of Penn State World Campus and associate vice president for Academic Outreach. Penn State is the only institution receiving two awards.
"The Sloan Consortium is the premier higher education professional association focusing on advancing the quality of online learning. To be recognized by Sloan-C with these two awards is a wonderful tribute to Penn State's accomplishments in developing an outstanding online education program. The World Campus has provided access to a rigorous Penn State education to adult learners across the Commonwealth and around the world," said Craig Weidemann, vice president for Penn State Outreach.
Sloan-C, an association of higher education institutions and organizations engaged in online learning, will present its 2011 awards at its annual conference on Nov. 10 in Orlando.
The Excellence in Institution-Wide Online Education Award recognizes an institution that has designed and implemented an outstanding and comprehensive online learning curriculum. Since its launch in 1998, Penn State's World Campus has continued to expand. In each of the last five years, it has grown 20 to 30 percent. A hallmark of the World Campus is that all courses are created in partnership with faculty in the academic colleges, where the programs reside.
According to Smutz, "World Campus classes are fully online, academically equal to campus-based courses, interactive and dynamic, and adult learner-centric. Quality is a top priority and is demonstrated in instruction, materials, student support and resources, as well as in cost-effectiveness, access to programming and student success. We truly want our students to succeed and work diligently to make that happen."
The Outstanding Achievement in Online Education by an Individual Award honors an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary achievements in the field of online education. "Wayne Smutz is a national leader in online education and is providing visionary leadership," said Weidemann.
For more information on the 2011 Sloan-C awards, go to http://sloanconsortium.org/2011awards online.
Penn State World Campus specializes in adult online education, delivering more than 70 of Penn State's most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate and professional education programs through convenient online formats. Founded in 1998, Penn State World Campus is the University's 25th campus serving more than 8,500 students in all 50 states and around the world. World Campus is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education. Penn State Outreach serves more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 114 countries worldwide.