Thursday, May 17, 2012

Colleges create campus ties for online students

Most schools still do little more than invite their online students to graduation ceremonies. Some will even broadcast those sessions on websites, for those who can't attend.

But there are those that have taken some extra steps.

 It's actually nothing new at the University of Illinois at Springfield, which has been offering an online graduate brunch for a decade. It brings in about 300 students and family members each year, with students coming from all over the country to take part, said Ray Schroeder, director of the Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service.

 "They crave the opportunity to meet their professors and shake hands with other students," Schroeder said.

Schroeder was featured in an May 13, 2012, article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Read the article online