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Olivet Nazarene U Offers Tuition-Free Online General Ed Courses for Adult Learners

A new program out of Olivet Nazarene University's School of Graduate and Continuing Studies is using an online, asynchronous flipped model to provide adult students a pathway to earn a bachelor's degree. The Your Way program offers tuition-free general education courses in which students access course material independently, and then participate in an online community with classmates and faculty to "expand their knowledge and deepen understanding," the university explained in a news announcement.

"Through Your Way, general education courses are tuition-free so that adult students from across the nation have equitable access to college," said Ryan Spittal, vice president for Olivet's ONU Global division, in a statement. "Since every student has to take general education courses before taking the courses specific to their degree program, this tuition-free general education initiative flattens barriers and bends the cost curve, allowing students to take courses with no up-front costs."

Built on Salesforce's Trailhead online learning platform, Your Way courses are designed in small, "bite-sized" chunks along with knowledge-check assessments, student engagement activities and gamification badges. Students can access their courses from anywhere, any time, and on any device. Olivet has also created a digital campus on Salesforce's Experience Cloud platform, where students can enter their virtual classroom, collaborate with peers, get help from advisers and other staff, and more.  

"With 15 years in the online market, Olivet knows that compelling content is important, but we feel that facilitating connection in an online environment is key to effective education," continued Spittal. "It is more important now than ever before, especially in this social-distancing culture, to provide a quality education and moment-making connections in an online experience that reflects our supportive on-campus ethos."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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