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UMUC 111 Virtual Meet & Greet Wins WOW Award

Deborah Schroeder

Senior Instructional Support Specialist

Office of Instructional Services and Support

Published: January-February 2010

Category: » University-showcase » Awards

UMUC 111 Virtual Meet & Greet was named a recipient of a 2009 WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Award in October for its efforts in improving interactions among online students and faculty in Computer Information Systems and Technology (CITE) programs. 

WOW awards are given to organizational members of the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET) through an annual competition that recognizes innovation and best practices in implementing educational technology in higher education.

UMUC 111 is the brainchild of Dr. S. K. Bhaskar, Assistant Dean of CITE, and Kimberly Chung, Director of Strategic Enrollment Initiatives. Dr. Bhaskar sought to create a virtual community where he could proactively reach out to all current CITE students. He wanted a space where students could develop relationships with their peers, learn about program offerings, and get advice on course selections from program advisors. Ms. Chung was instrumental in planning, setting up, and organizing the virtual space where the interactions and information sharing could occur.

The UMUC 111 development team hoped that when they offered the first Virtual Meet & Greet in Fall 2008, they would get about 20 to 30 CITE students to enroll. Much to their surprise, over 100 students signed up. One of the conference activities asked students who had been in the program to share some advice that would help new students succeed at UMUC. One student shared, “My advice to new students is to give it your all, do not slack off, and enjoy the amount of resources you have at your fingertips with UMUC. I am currently serving in the Army and UMUC has been my home school since 1997. The standards are high, and the awards are many. You need to stay on top of the postings, do your homework, take responsibility for your actions, and learn, but do not be discouraged from any setbacks made. All can be overcome!”

A survey of the students who participated in the UMUC 111 Virtual Meet and Greet indicated that they found the session of value and were pleased to have been able to participate. Below are a few comments that students anonymously provided:

“I would recommend this class as a supplement to take for anyone taking their first Web Tyco class. Thanks for all the great info; I look forward to learning more in the future.”

"Thanks so much for creating this session. It helped me see the distinctions among the various majors. Particularly the emphasis on Java in CMSC and all the TechKNOW modules."

"I found UMUC 111 very interesting and was able to come away with a better understanding of the courses and the direction that they take.  I would have like to have seen a chat on Graduate programs for those of us going on that path after obtaining our degrees to answer questions in that arena.  Thank you once again for this experience in the two plus years I have attended UMUC online this is the first one of these sessions that I was aware of and completely enjoyed it."

"UMUC 111 was very helpful after a prolonged absence from taking on-line courses. I will be taking 2 courses this coming spring semester, and taking UMUC 111 was instrumental in getting the 'rust off' so to speak and to prepare me for the rigors on the on-line curriculum. Thanks to the instructor and other students for their feedback, it really helped. I'll see everyone in the spring!"

UMUC 111 will be offered each fall and spring, with the hope that student participation will continue to increase. Congratulations to Dr. Bhaskar and Ms. Chung on their accomplishments with UMUC 111!