Distance Learning | News

Ocean County College Looks To Triple Enrollment Through Online Program

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 05/18/11

Ocean County College in New Jersey is advancing its institutional goal to exploit the potential for distance learning. As part of the effort, the college has contracted for services from Pearson eCollege, including the company's learning management system. The Toms River, NJ institution, which currently has about 10,000 students, is aiming to grow to a total of 32,000 by 2025, delivering much of the education through online programs.

Under a new agreement, Ocean County has licensed Pearson's online LMS, LearningStudio, and enterprise analytics services and a learning outcomes manager to track learning objectives and goals. Pearson will also provide digital content and support services in areas such as course conversion, integration with the college's student information system, and student support and enrollment.

Prior to the agreement, the college offered individual online courses, which it used Blackboard's WebCT to manage. With the new structure, Ocean County will be able to offer fully online two-year degree programs, beginning with criminal justice, computer science, homeland security, general studies, and business.

The initial contract pays eCollege $100,000 for setup, training, and implementation. Subsequent payments will reflect a percentage of the tuition revenue per credit hour generated specifically through the program.

"Partnering with Pearson was the best choice for us, as we did not find another company in this sector that offered the amount of comprehensive services and support necessary to sustain a successful high growth, rigorous, and quality online learning program," said President Jon Larson. "Pearson is able to deliver the technology to help us improve access and affordability for our students, maximize students' academic performance, and better prepare them for the workforce or attaining a four-year degree."

Rutgers University, also in New Jersey, is another Pearson customer using its LMS to support online course offerings.