Hibbing Daily Tribune: BSU distance programs help Rangers connect online

BEMIDJI — Student enrollment in online course offerings — both for undergraduate and graduate-level — at Bemidji State University is growing.

And the Arrowhead region, including the Iron Range, is a major force driving that expansion.

“About 20 percent of our student population is now taking online courses. There’s quite a group of them … 800 to 900 students. Some are full-degree students, with others taking a course or two,” Lynn Johnson, BSU director of distance learning, said in a telephone interview.

“And in our online programs the Arrowhead region is second only to the metro area.”

Johnson said the challenge is to find those who move a different direction in their lives and are seeking more education opportunities.

The average age of BSU online learners is 30.26 years, Johnson said.

“Many we find are in the situation of miners on the Range. They either had started or completed two-year degrees and now are out of the work world for a while. Now they really need to get back to finish a bachelor’s degree,” Johnson said.

Some online students are in their 50s looking for a second degree. “There’s certainly an audience there,” Johnson said.

“We don’t want to replace the importance of our on-campus students. But we think online is where we’ll see growth,” she added.

Johnson said the Applied Engineering and Technology Management degree programs may be of particular interest to students who have a completed technical degree and are looking to build on that degree and their experience to move into a management type position.

Also, the Business Administration and Accounting degrees may interest those looking to shift into other areas, she added.

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The BSU undergraduate extended learning program offerings are:

• Accounting.

• Applied Engineering.

• Biology Baccalaureate

Partnership.

• Business Administration.

• Metro Area Business

Administration.

• Criminal Justice.

• Elementary Education.

• Marketing Communication.

• Nursing (RN-BS).

• Physchology.

• Social Work.

• Technology Management.

BSU online Master’s Degree

programs are:

• Business Administration.

• Education.

• Special Education.

Online licensure programs are:

• Fastrack Post-Bac Secondary

Teaching.

• Health.

• Special Education: Autism

Spectrum Disorders.

• Special Education:

Emotional Behavioral Disorders.

•Special Education: Learning

Disabilities.

Online certificate programs are:

• Camp Nursing.

• Online Teaching.

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Johnson has been at BSU for 15 years, with her focus nearly all of that time on online education.

“It has been a gradual, but intentional growth. We are trying to reach students who can’t come to Bemidji, and we are reaching them.

“We look to expand more and more the reach of Bemidji State,” Johnson said.