norFoLK StatE uniVErSitY®

a newsletter for Faculty, Staff, alumni and Friends of norfolk State university

WAVESMaKinG

www.nsu.eduCreated by the office of Communications and Marketing, (757) 823-8373

Literia Jones is proud of her Norfolk State University education although she’s

never walked through the wings of Brown Hall, studied at Lyman Beecher Brooks

Library or witnessed a Spartan Legion band performance.

But in her brief time as an NSU student, she made history. Jones is the

University’s first online degree graduate. In 2008, she earned a degree in

Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in health services management. She

currently works as a development disability waiver specialist for a nonprofit organization in Petersburg.

Jones, who lived in Blackstone, Virginia, at the time, said she decided to enroll in online courses in 2007

after a co-worker who was an NSU alumna informed her about the University’s virtual offerings. She

transferred her credits from a higher education institution she previously attended and says it turned out to

be a wonderful decision.

“I needed to work full-time and needed flexibility,” Jones said. “I like learning online and NSU gave me

the mobility to finish my degree.”

Jones said she encourages those with busy lifestyles that require them to work, or those who learn better

from working on their own to seek an education online.

“I'm very proud to be an alumna of NSU. The degree means more to me than my master’s because of

the adversity I went through to obtain it.”

First online Grad Feels Special Connection to nSu

Dr. arletha

McSwain, dean

of the School of

Extended Learning,

was invited to serve

on a panel at the

2014 USDLA National Conference

in St. Louis, Missouri, to share an

institutional perspective earning the

USDLA Quality Standards in

Distance Education.

Dr. Macarena aspillaga,

SEL course designer, received

the certified faculty developer

designation from the Learning

Resources Network (LERN)

in April 2014.

Harry P. Styles, faculty/student

Blackboard certified trainer, earned

a second master’s degree—an

M.A. in English—from Old

Dominion University on May 9.

The United States

Distance Learning

Association site

team called

the faculty

certification

program developed by Mark Eulo,

SEL faculty trainer, “outstanding.”

Lee Laska, director of media

and video production, leads the

production arm of the School

of Extended Learning.

Xuemei Li,

Blackboard

administrator

and coordinator,

completed the

Blackboard course

delivery Graphic User Interface

(GUI) administration and content

management GUI administration

certification courses in 2013.

SEL FaCuLtY, StaFF Earn CritiCaL inDuStrY CErtiFiCationS

Norfolk State University’s distance education

program has earned the Quality Standards

Certification offered by the United States

Distance Learning Association. NSU was the first

and only historically black college or university

(HBCU) in the country to have the distinction.

NSU provides distance and online education

through the School of Extended Learning (SEL) to

students who may be around the corner or abroad.

More than 3,000 students take online courses

and 69 students are currently enrolled in fully

online degree programs. The online degree

program has offerings in majors such as

Interdisciplinary Studies, Health Management,

History, Psychology and also master’s degree

programs in Teaching, Urban Education and Pre-

Elementary Education. NSU currently offers seven

fully online degrees—four undergraduate and

three graduate degrees.

Even if distance education or online learners

are located faraway from campus, they can still

feel connected to the University through Cyber

Spartan, which links them to on-campus resources

and allows them to interact with students.“The goal

of Cyber Spartan,” said SEL Dean Dr. Arletha

McSwain, “is to create a unified student body that

is able to meet to share experiences, collaborate

on studies and encourage each other academically

and socially.”

Distance Education Program Earns Prestigious Certification for Second Year