degree

Good news. I met with our Financial Aid officer and he actually had it
worked out last year with a couple of students as test cases. He is the
head of the Fin. Aid Officers group and all those guys are "budds" so he'll be the one to tell how to do it and he thinks its pretty easy.

At this point it involves a matriculated, financial aid-receiving student to
register for an online course offered by another SUNY college, go to home Fin Aid for agreement form, pay for that course, then some gyration takes place and the money is transfered back to home college and refunded to student.

I think the next step would be to have it all a paper transaction
without money paid up front and refunded but we at least have a mechanism, a working document, and someone in that loop that SAYS he'll make it happen.

I think we can start planning for fall right away. Maybe not promising the total degree on line but start with this cross of courses so that distance students could begin to patch together a degree. That list of courses that Gil did is important to us now we have to see about developing more, making sure there are enough spaces for extra students and deciding how to inform students.

Next steps are to look for funding to underwrite course development and to work at our individual colleges regarding the complete degree. Ours has been submitted but no word for months so the VP is followin up on it. I think we would need to meet in the next month or so before we plan course schedules for fall. I'd be willing to put on extra Intro online if I thought there was a market and to "sell" electives etc from other colleges. Let's talk. What do you think?

E-mail your comments to: Nilsen_B@mail.sunybroome.edu