(Published Saturday, July 14, 2007)

Extended Campus graduates record 87 students in June

Oregon State University’s Extended Campus graduated 87 students in June, up from the previous record of 71 in 2005-06. A total of 49 graduated in 2004-05.

Extended Campus, or Ecampus, offers a way for students of all ages to begin and complete their degree, even without stepping foot on the Corvallis campus.

Through the aid of technology, Ecampus offers more than 15 accredited undergraduate and graduate degrees throughout Oregon and beyond the state’s borders.

Of the 87 that graduated, the top three degrees were the bachelor of science in natural resources (20), bachelor of science in liberal studies (18) and the master of education in adult education (17).

Other majors and degrees represented by 2007 graduates included Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (13) and General Agriculture (3), the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies (5), the Master of Arts Teaching in Elementary Education (6) and the Master of Education in Education (5).

Scott Reed, vice provost of the Division of Outreach and Engagement, notes that Ecampus offers accessibility to those whose lives do not allow a traditional college experience.

“One key benefit is the flexibility to accomplish educational goals that are simply not available by conventional means for place-bound students,” Reed said.

Information about Ecampus admission, degrees and programs can be found at ecampus.oregonstate.edu or by calling 800-667-1465.

Marine scientists coming to OSU to discuss coastal mapping

A group of marine scientists from the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark and Africa will meet at Oregon State University on Monday through Friday to create and discuss new programs in marine and coastal mapping, and emerging “informatics” technology that merges science with advanced computing systems.

The workshop, funded by the Office of International Science and Education of the National Science Foundation, will build on the efforts of a similar workshop held last year at the University College Cork in Ireland.

“This is the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term partnership and exchange of both students and faculty,” said Dawn Wright, professor of geosciences at OSU and expert in marine mapping technology.

Worldwide, Wright said, about 20 percent of the people on Earth live within a few miles of a coastline, many of which have severe management or natural hazard concerns. Coastal mapping, geographic information systems and informatics technology are powerful tools that could be used to better address some of these concerns, she said, but are often not implemented as fully as they could be into management and policy decisions.

Some of that work is already under way in Oregon, with creation of the Oregon Coastal Atlas, at www.coastalatlas.net. It has been operational now for four years.

OSU News Service