SUNY Empire State College Adopts Social Network To Increase Student Engagement
- By Mike Hohenbrink
- 12/07/11
The State University of New York (SUNY) Empire State College is expanding its student engagement offerings in order to help faculty and staff connect and collaborate more effectively.
The school will adopt the social networking site Academic Engagement Network, run by GoingOn Networks, as part of the collaborative learning environment in the School of Graduate Studies.
SUNY Empire State College was established in 1971 to specialize in nontraditional teaching and learning and primarily serves working adults at 35 locations both inside and outside the state of New York and online. Students decide if they want to study online, in a classroom, or both, and "faculty mentors guide learners by designing an individual degree program within 12 broad areas," according to information released by the school.
"We continually seek out cutting edge technology that can help us engage our students, improve learning outcomes and provide a more complete academic experience. In support of that, the School of Graduate Studies is developing a new online learning environment with GoingOn," said Robert Clougherty, dean of the College of Graduate Studies at SUNY Empire State College.
Adoption of the network will integrate with Empire State's current learning management system and will provide features including:
- Online study groups;
- Social classrooms;
- A central hub for several master's programs and administrative activities;
- Faculty collaboration activities; and
- Program-level communities.
Implementation of the network will involve a pilot program with two new master's degree offerings that will begin in January. Complete implementation spanning all graduate programs is planed for later this academic year.
For more information about SUNY Empire State College, visit esc.edu. For more information about GoingOn, visit goingon.com.