What makes University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) unique?
I am asked that question sometimes, and the answer isn’t as simple as it might seem. There are other institutions that serve adult or military learners, after all; many offer online or hybrid educational experiences; some work to bring opportunity within reach for underserved populations.
Yet we hear from students and alumni alike that UMGC is different, special, unique. They point to our flexibility, the personal attention and support from our success coaches, our generous transfer credit policies, and the sheer number of services that aren’t available at other schools.
As I look ahead to the Fourth of July holiday and reflect on the ideals upon which America was founded, I can’t help but think that a dedication to those same ideals—freedom, equality, opportunity—have shaped this university and continue to set it apart.
A Revolutionary Mindset: Meeting Learners Where They Are
From the first, UMGC—a state university—embraced a unique interpretation of its mission, focusing on the future, less interested in reproducing the admissions standards of the Ivy League and more interested in innovations that would break down barriers and bring the benefits of education within reach for all learners.
Within higher education, that was every bit as revolutionary as government by and for the people.
In an industry that often equates quality with exclusivity, UMGC adopted open admissions. Instead of demanding that students live and learn on campus, UMGC brought learning experiences to them, offering classes after hours where people worked—in government agencies, on military bases, or at large companies—and in towns and outlying communities that lacked convenient access to a university campus.
Today, the university takes a similar approach, granting credit for prior learning, sending faculty abroad to teach on military bases worldwide, and leveraging a variety of online and hybrid modalities to bring learning within reach for students anywhere.
An Innovative, “Can-Do” Spirit that Continues to Shape Our Future
Again, I am reminded of the American experience, which—although it certainly includes legendary tales of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin—is just as much if not more the stories of immigrants massed at Ellis Island, eager to pursue their vision of the American Dream.
They didn’t need traditions to inspire them or obstacles to test their resolve. They needed keys that would open the doors of opportunity.
When the U.S. Department of Defense, in 1949, called on universities to teach U.S. troops stationed in post-War Europe, only UMGC responded, sending seven faculty overseas on short notice, their bags filled with books and supplies.
They were pioneers in the truest sense of the word.
There were no agreed-upon blueprints that they could follow and no guarantees of success. The program’s provisional administrator flew overseas with the caveat that if fewer than 300 students enrolled, he was to cancel the program and send everyone home.
More than 1,800 signed up, and enrollments topped 4,000 within a year.
Of necessity, the program leaders established an operation that was both flexible and agile, able to adapt at a moment’s notice, and guided always by the imperative to “get it done.”
To this day, that can-do spirit is the lifeblood of our university. We aren’t afraid of the unknown and prefer to find out firsthand whether something works and has value, rather than waiting for others to tell us.
When UMGC piloted its first online offerings in the 1990s, growth was explosive and exponential. Learning management systems did not exist, so the university built its own—not slick, certainly not flawless, but for decades, it “got it done.”
Today, UMGC continues to innovate and grow, focused always on expanding opportunity and access—on meeting students where they are, bringing life-transforming learning experiences within reach for the populations that need them most, offering adults in the workforce a variety of ways to earn credit toward a degree or certificate and making the learning experience more affordable by using online educational resources in most courses and offering scholarships and one of the lowest tuition rates in Maryland.
UMGC’s Commitments: Flexibility, Life-Altering Learning Experiences, and Global Accessibility
In more than 175 global locations, our commitment to delivering life-altering learning experiences is tested on a daily basis—when dust storms mixed with rain and hail in Saudi Arabia, flooding classrooms and office space; when Super Typhoon Mawar struck Guam, flooding homes, knocking out power, and restricting internet access for months; when earthquakes rattled Italy or Okinawa; and of course when geopolitical conflicts drove emergency deployments, disrupting academic schedules for students and faculty alike.
With every new challenge, UMGC responds with its trademark flexibility and with the needs of students central to every decision. And, again, I am reminded of the way that America has rallied—creatively and pragmatically—in response to challenges, shifting to a war economy in the 1930s and leveraging its most innovative minds in the 1960s to put a human being on the moon. So too UMGC unites in the face of challenges, focused always on providing the right learning experience to the right learner at the right time and in the right way.
Today, students also face perplexing challenges, as job markets evolve and roles emerge that didn’t even exist two years ago. To address these challenges, UMGC has continued to innovate, introducing programs like our new undergraduate certificate in AI and exploring cutting-edge learning experiences like MARS, a cybersecurity virtual learning environment.
At the same time, UMGC is looking at the entire learning journey and shifting to a skills-forward model that will yield an industry-aligned curriculum, allowing students to map their journey in advance and track their progress in real time as they obtain the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to reach their professional goals.
These flexible, adaptable learning experiences are linked to a best-in-class network of support and resources, available in real time across a variety of platforms. They are also stackable into more traditional courses and programs, but designed so that our portfolio responds to student demands for shorter term skills and learning experiences.
Similarly, the university pursues industry partnerships designed to both extend its reach and increase its ability to bring learning experiences to market at scale.
Taken together, these are the qualities and capacities that make UMGC unique—its can-do spirit, rooted in history; its embrace of innovation and willingness to experiment and explore; and its steadfast commitment to bringing opportunity within reach for all learners.
As we celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, I am proud to be part of a university that embraces America’s most noble ideals, extending opportunity at home and abroad, and bringing the dream of a better life and brighter future within reach for learners everywhere.
Reference on this webpage to any third-party entity or product does not constitute or imply endorsement by UMGC nor does it constitute or imply endorsement of UMGC by the third party.
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