Increased Learning Options Lead to a Break From Traffic and High Gas Prices

eCollege Helps Chaminade University Provide Alternative Learning Options for Students

Chaminade University, located in Honolulu, was looking to offer alternative learning options for local students struggling with congested highway travel and rising gas prices, as well as a wider course offering for their fully online students. The eCollege course management system offered a viable solution.

By partnering with eCollege, Chaminade was able to build a variety of hybrid-course offerings, featuring courses with both online and on-campus components, so that local students would not need to travel to campus as frequently to complete coursework. In addition, the eCollege solution allowed the university to increase its fully online course offerings to better address the needs of its adult learners, military and international students.

Challenges for Local Students
Honolulu is currently one of the most traffic-congested cities in America, and Chaminade students faced travel on crowded highways each time they had a class on campus. This travel time, coupled with rising gas prices, added a burden to local students trying to complete coursework. The university needed an alternate learning option that would reduce some of the on-campus time for these students.

Chaminade University now offers hybrid-learning courses, which are a combination of on-line exams and threaded discussions partnered with traditional, seated learning. Students can now login for portions of their course work, reducing the dual travel costs of time and money. With Honolulu ranked number one in the nation for the worst drive-time travel according to the most recent INRIX National Traffic Scorecard, these reductions are a significant draw for Chaminade.

 “Honolulu’s traffic is horrendous. Driving the 15 miles to campus takes me over an hour each morning,” said Skip Lee, Director of Adult Evening and Online Programs at Chaminade. “With eCollege’s innovative course delivery solution, more Chaminade students can access their education without the hassle of driving every day.”

Increasing Numbers of Online Enrollments
Chaminade University has been serving students online for the past nine years. During the 2008 school year, the university delivered a wide range of fully online courses to a growing population of adult learners, military and international students seeking to further their careers through education.

Chaminade faculty also wanted to address the increasing numbers of fully online enrollments for the university. This group of students, which includes a large number of adult learners, military and international students, was in need of a wider choice of course offerings.

To meet the needs of these students, the university offers fully online programs that are attractive to military personnel, such as criminal justice and business degrees. In addition, Chaminade offers completely online master’s degrees, including education, criminal justice and pastoral theology.

Each of Chaminade’s online programs, powered by eCollege, are fully-accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The eCollege solution offered a dynamic eLearning program that allowed Chaminade to address the needs of all their students, both locally and abroad.