Distance education helps Harris, other BGSU students get their degrees

Josh Harris won’t be picking up his diploma in person Aug. 7 at BGSU’s summer graduation ceremonies.

The former Falcon quarterback will be at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., continuing his football education in the training camp of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.

Because a pro prospect’s “post-graduate work” begins well before the annual April draft of collegiate players, let alone the opening of camp in July, Harris wasn’t on campus during spring semester, either. That was when he joined a lengthening list of BGSU students who, for career and other reasons, are finishing their degrees online.

The honorable mention All-American quarterback left Bowling Green soon after being named Most Valuable Player in the Motor City Bowl, where he led the Falcons to a 28-24 win over Northwestern.

After traveling to Mobile, Ala., to play in the Senior Bowl in January, Harris was in Louisiana for two months, working out for scouts in preparation for the draft. At the same time, however, he was taking independent study classes in interpersonal communication—his major—and sport management, and a distance education course in American culture studies.

“I made sure I was lined up before I left (BGSU),” said the Ravens’ sixth-round draft pick, who ended spring semester with a 3.11 cumulative grade point average. He took two more online courses this summer, in sociology and another in sport management, to complete the requirements for his degree in communication.

That wouldn’t have been possible until a year ago, when BGSU began expanding its online offerings in key general education and 300- and 400-level courses needed by students to finish their degree programs, said Dr. Bruce Edwards, associate dean for distance education and international programs.

“Josh is in a unique early participant group because the availability of the courses hasn’t been there before,” said Edwards, noting that courses in the College of Arts and Sciences were particularly targeted for online instruction.

This summer, more than 130 sections of over 90 University courses were scheduled online, doubling the number of sections offered a year ago. In addition, last summer’s total online enrollment of 999 has nearly doubled, to 1,797.

Because not every student’s personal situation is known, it’s hard to say how many are using distance education to complete their degree programs, according to Edwards. But it’s “a growing number,” he said, adding that job and travel demands are among the many factors that may take students away from campus, “and this (online learning) is just a great way to serve them.”

Regardless of degree program, “we would be doing this for any student close to graduation who needs to find a different route to completion,” he said.

That was the case for Harris, who said remaining on campus last spring “wouldn’t have been in the best interest of my football career.” Without the distance education option, he said, “I wouldn’t have been able to graduate (now) because I needed to leave Bowling Green.”

Getting that degree in four years plus a summer term, when many students now need five years to graduate, “speaks about his performance in the classroom,” noted BGSU Athletics Director Paul Krebs.

Being a student-athlete isn’t easy, he said. But in addition to Harris, who may be the most visible recent example of a successful BGSU student-athlete, the University also had several academic All-Americans in 2003-04, including Craig Jarrett in football, Stefanie Wenzel in women’s basketball and D’Arcy McConvey in hockey, Krebs pointed out.

“More than anything, the time demands required to compete at this level require somebody who’s very dedicated and very focused,” he said, citing those student-athletes in particular for their work in both roles.