COLUMBIA, Mo. — “Missouri Online, the way beyond.”
A year after the coronavirus pandemic sidelined education, the University of Missouri announced an effort to drastically expand its online programs during a virtual press conference Tuesday.
“Missouri Online” marries the online course portfolios of the University of Missouri System schools to provide students access to 260 programs — and that number is growing.
“We are very excited to announce the addition of 22 new programs for this year,” Mun Choi, president of the University of Missouri System, said. “Our campuses are also adding 15 certificates to allow working professionals the opportunities for advancement in their careers.”
The goal of Missouri Online is to make education more accessible, officials said.
“We have aligned with the division of information technology to make sure everyone has help when they need it — whether they are on campus or the other side of the globe taking our classes,” Matthew Gunkel, the chief e-learning officer, said.
“There are almost 900,000 Missourians who have started college and never finished,” Gunkel continued. “The access we provide at our universities is reaching residents where they live and work, and giving them the opportunity to finish the unfinished business of their degrees.”
Missouri has a goal of 60 percent of working-age adults having a degree or certificate by 2025. Department of Higher Education Commissioner Zora Mulligan said she believes the Missouri Online program will aid the state in reaching this goal.
“We’re at about 53 percent now, and we’re really optimistic about the ways that Missouri Online is going to be a good tool for reaching the additional people that we need to serve,” Mulligan said.
Elise Eaker studies journalism at Lincoln University. Prior to Lincoln, Elise graduated from Fulton High School. She is a native of Fulton.
