Renssselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, New York
Distance Learning Program
Rensselaer's distance learning program provides twelve master's degree programs and seventeen certificate programs, as well as graduate courses, to working professionals at their work sites. More than 800 working professionals from many of this nation's leading corporations participate each semester without having to travel to the campus.
In operation since 1987, Rensselaer's distance education is a highly respected program in the field of distance learning. In 1993, it was named "Best Distance Learning Program-Higher Education" by the United States Distance Learning Association. In 1996, the same organization recognized it as having an "Outstanding Partnership with a Corporation" for the development and delivery of its M.S. program in the management of technology to General Motors. It is known for an emphasis on high quality, customer service, excellent production values, and innovation.
Rensselaer delivers courses using a range of technologies that include satellite broadcasts, videoconferencing, videotapes, and the Internet. These technologies are integrated so that the same event can be transmitted to multiple locations in different delivery formats. Most programs can be received in a live, interactive mode. A growing number of classes are now being videostreamed on the Internet, making it possible for those at corporate sites to pursue Rensselaer graduate studies at a distance. The World Wide Web also provides for e-mail or chat interaction with the instructor and staff members and provides electronic access to course materials.
Education for Working Professionals staff members serve as the interface to the rest of the Rensselaer campus for its student services, including admission, registration, academic advising, instructional materials, transfer credits, and degree clearance. Students also have direct access to Rensselaer's Student Information System and the library via the World Wide Web.
Rensselaer works with corporate and government sponsors who arrange to bring Rensselaer's programs on-site for their employees, in cohort-based programs. Partner sites agree to receive courses and provide all local administrative support, which often includes a library of instructional materials.
Programs of Study
Working professionals may complete four-course certificate programs or full master's degrees through distributed education at their corporate locations. The credits and degrees received are identical to those received by campus-based students. Most content is at the graduate level. In addition, noncredit seminars and workshops are offered in a range of technical areas.
Master's degrees are available in the following areas: business administration (M.B.A.), computer science, computer and systems engineering, electrical engineering (microelectronics), electric power engineering, engineering science (manufacturing systems engineering, and management of technology), industrial and management engineering (quality engineering and service systems), information technology, management (with optional concentrations in management information systems or human-computer interaction), and technical communications.
Certificates are available in the following areas: bioinformatics, computer graphics and data visualization, computer networks, computer science, database systems design, graphical user interfaces, human-computer interaction, management and technology, manufacturing systems engineering, microelectronics manufacturing engineering, microelectronics technology and design, quality and reliability, service systems, and software engineering.
In 1999, Rensselaer launched a series of new information technology degree and certificate programs called IT at a Distance. Qualified students may pursue courses leading to IT-related degrees or certificates at home or office using videostreaming on the World Wide Web and through interactive Web-based delivery.
Rensselaer's distance program delivers approximately seventy courses annually via distance learning technology to employees at more than sixty sites of many of the nation's leading corporations and other organizations. Participants include American Electric Tower, Delphi Automotive, Consolidated Edison, U.S. Department of Defense, Entergy, Fairchild Semiconductor, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, Honeywell, IBM, J. P. Morgan, Lockheed Martin, Lucent Technology, Pitney Bowes, United Technologies, and Xerox, among others.
Rensselaer's regional sites in Tysons Corners, Virginia and Groton, Connecticut, along with Rensselaer at Hartford, provide working professionals in their surrounding areas with the opportunity to earn master's degrees and graduate certificates. In addition, professional development programs through a world-class learning experience are available at the Rensselaer at Hartford campus or at the professional's corporate location.
Rensselaer's faculty is drawn from approximately 400 full-time Rensselaer scholars, teachers, and researchers. Their doctorates or other degrees are from the world's leading universities. The faculty members who teach in the distance learning program also teach on campus, and more than 80 full-time faculty members have taught in the program to date.
Applying for Distance Education
Application deadlines are typically set at six weeks prior to the first day of class, and admission decisions are made as soon as the completed application is received. Application materials for credit courses and programs are provided to the participating locations and are also available upon request. Registration forms for noncredit seminars and workshops are included in the program announcements.
Except for the M.B.A., all master's programs are 30-credit minimum, ten-course degrees. Students in the master's programs can transfer up to two graduate-level courses (6 credits) that have been completed at other institutions, assuming that the courses are approved as acceptable in the plan of study by an academic adviser and were completed with a grade of B or better. The M.B.A. is a 60-credit program with the possibility of waiving 3 to 12 credits based on prior knowledge and/or work experience. Certificate programs require the successful completion of a four-course sequence of graduate-level courses. No course work can be transferred into the certificate program.
Students interested in credit courses and degree programs must apply to Rensselaer in the same manner as campus-based students; admission standards are essentially the same. Transcripts of all college-level work and two letters of recommendation must be supplied for degree admission. Transcripts are also required for certificates. There are no admission requirements for short courses and seminars.
Costs
Tuition for all credit courses for the 2003-04 academic year is $942 per credit hour, or $2826 per 3-credit course. The only other costs are for the application fee ($45), transcript fee ($25), and the cost of instructional materials. Costs for noncredit seminars and workshops vary.
Financial Aid
Most students currently enrolled in the program have their tuition costs paid through their employers. If desired, students enrolled in the credit courses and programs can, like their colleagues on campus, apply for state and federal bank loans.
For Additional Information
Education for Working Professionals
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Center for Industrial Innovation
Troy, New York 12180
Telephone: 518-276-8351
E-mail: rsvp@rpi.edu