Are You Close To Marist College?

Here is an interesting statistic about one of the graduate online classes I'm currently teaching at Marist. Students in this class are located from the U.S. East Coast to Hawaii, and from Hawaii to Nairobi, Kenya.

That means the student in Hawaii is 10,762 miles (17,320 Kilometers or 9,346 Nautical Miles) away from the student in Kenya; and it would take the student in Kenya approximately 22 hours to fly from Nairobi to have a meeting with the student in Hawaii. Obviously, such a meeting would not be very feasible.

So why does this matter? Well, given the current public debate about the value of online courses versus traditional courses, it demonstrates the value of Marist's online graduate programs in communication. Our program is accessible and affordable for students from around the world and requires no supplemental on-campus residency. Our student in Kenya is already meeting with the student in Hawaii in our online classroom, without having to travel.

These statistics also demonstrate the power of our virtual community. It takes a lot of work to be in our online classrooms -- for both students and faculty. But it's a very rewarding experience to be part of such a dedicated, collaborative, and supportive network of teachers and life-time learners. As many of our graduates will attest, we form close and lasting relationships with each other during the time spent together in our online classrooms, despite geographic separation.

Check out this map. Are you close to a Marist student or faculty member?