Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE- When Jeannie Keist graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's online project management program this summer, she might have been expecting to finally have some downtime. That hasn't happened yet. "The week after finishing the requirements for the M.S.P.M., I became a part of a major, company-wide project," she says. "I am sure the new degree helped me land it!"

Keist is currently manager of the Industry, Professional and Collegiate Education unit within the learning and development department at State Farm Insurance in Bloomington, Ill. Her unit facilitates employee education and administers the tuition reimbursement program. "There are numerous projects associated with these programs for a company of our size," she notes. "Both the information learned through the project management coursework and the experience in a distance learning online environment has been invaluable to me as a learning and development professional."

Before committing to UWP's online program, Keist was concerned that the program be flexible. "The primary obstacle has been time," she explains. "Not that the hours of the day have changed from 25 years ago, but the pressure of all that we do now within a 24 hour period (and day after day) is much greater than in the past. For me, an online program was essential because of the flexibility that it allows."

Though Keist was prepared to sacrifice networking with other students to gain the flexibility she needed, she found that it wasn't an either/or situation. "I was concerned going into the program that I would miss the essential student interaction piece associated with getting an advanced degree," she says. "I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of interaction that actually took place in the UWP online environment. I worked in different groups for each class and got to learn from several professionals (other students) who are working in several different industries. The demonstrated effort of the professors to incorporate group learning and student interaction made it comparable to the learning and social learning aspects of other education programs, but provided the added benefit of schedule flexibility."

Keist encourages other working adults to consider online education, especially if it's something they've been putting off for a while. "The bottom line is that two years or three years are going to pass whether you are working on a degree or not. Why not jump in and get involved so that two to three years from now you find yourself with a master's degree, instead of looking back and wishing you had started sooner? Get involved in your small groups in each class and find a way to be a leader, instead of sitting back and letting others take charge. Each group project is not only a knowledge-gaining experience, but a learning experience in group interactions, collaboration, and problem solving."

UWP offers four degrees at a distance: an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and online graduate degrees in Criminal Justice, Engineering, and Project Management. No campus visits are required. For more information, visit online at http://www.uwplatt.edu/disted, call 800-362-5460 or e-mail disted@uwplatt.edu.

Prepared by: Ellen McFall, mcfalle@uwplatt.edu