Northern Kentucky University will offer a Master of Arts in education (MAEd) degree entirely online beginning next fall.

Members of NKU’s College of Education and Human Services created the 30-credit hour program for online use.

The goal of the program is to help certified teachers improve efficiency through learning outcomes and test performance. This degree provides opportunities for teachers to craft projects that directly impact their specific classroom challenges.

“We expect our MAEd to be particularly attractive because teachers are very busy people,” said Provost and Vice president of academic Affairs Gail Wells. “Online education is a luxury for some and a necessity for others. NKU has an obligation to respond to the needs and desires of our citizenry.”

The program is certified by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and is accepted by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

NKU’s President James Votruba said online programs are a growing phenomenon in higher education because they allow students to take courses while engaging in other adult responsibilities.

“This is true nationally, in our region, and on our campus,” Votruba said.

To capitalize on this trend in education, the MAEd program will become the eighth NKU program and second graduate degree to be offered online.

The big advantage of offering online courses is convenience, Wells said. Online programs allow the university to respond to the needs of prospective students. With online education, geographic boundaries are irrelevant because a student can take a course from halfway around the world.

“Take, for example, a businesswoman who travels for her job,” Wells said. “She could participate from her hotel in China or Germany just as easily as from her Covington office.”

Online students have all the rights and privileges of campus-based students and are able to access all necessary services through Blackboard. In addition to an online fee, a $20 per-credit-hour fee is applied to all Web-based courses.

NKU already offers online programs including a Master of Science in Nursing degree, as well as classes in Nurse Practitioner Advancement and Post-Masters Certification. Through the Internet, a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing can also be achieved.

“Our campus wasn’t built for the 14,000 students we now serve,” Wells said. “Online classes enable us to serve more students than we could with our limited classroom space.”