Photo courtesy of Ed4Online
Ramapo’s Center for Innovative and Professional Learning, or CIPL, has made the decision to include Ed4Online classes in Ramapo’s curriculum. Ed4Online is an online learning provider for schools, agencies and corporations. It offers courses in four areas of online education, including career training, information technology, professional development and behavioral health training.
Ed4Online classes differ slightly from the average, sit-down class at Ramapo that most students are used to. The curriculum is developed by subject matter experts that base the course information on best practices that allow individuals to gain a number of different core concepts. The courses offered are approved by different national organizations. An important distinction between Ed4Online classes and typical online courses offered at Ramapo is that they are not offered for credit.
“These classes are geared towards enhancing and supporting skill-based learning. It’s similar to when working professionals take workshop courses to update their knowledge in a chosen field, or to earn or maintain a credential,” Rosa Diaz-Mulryan, the assistant vice president of CIPL, said.
Students interested in taking these courses should know that they are self-paced, which means that interested students can sign up and start at any time. Students can register and pay for these classes online through the Ramapo website.
Adding the courses to the curriculum allows the Center for Innovative and Professional Learning the ability to enhance its work with grant-funded students, specifically students who have been approved for grants through the Department of Defense for military personnel. According to Diaz-Mulryan, the Ed4Online courses are geared toward adult learners and military spouses who are pursuing training, licenses or credentials that can lead to employment or promotion in portable career fields. Portable careers are those that can be performed anywhere, and are valuable to people like military spouses, who may need to move frequently.
Now that the Ed4Online courses have been added to the College’s offerings, said Diaz-Mulryan, the next step is to work toward establishing a Military Spouse Career Advancement Account program in collaboration with the College’s Veterans Office. This would mean that spouses of military personnel would be eligible for a $4,000 grant toward skills training.
“The goals of this program are to offer approved online continuing education non-credit courses that support the maintenance of professional certifications and licensing. Also, we would like to create a [Military Spouse Career Advancement Account] program in collaboration with the RCNJ Veterans Office,” said Diaz-Mulryan.
The response from students to Ramapo offering these classes has been positive.
“I think it’s really cool that they’ve added these new online classes. I wasn’t aware that you could start at any given point, and that they are basically self-reliant, which I think is awesome,” commented sophomore Domenica LaRocco.
Freshman Amanda Abere echoed LaRocco, while noting the potential downside of not receiving credit.
“Although some students might be turned off because the courses don’t result in any credits, I think the courses are a great option for those who are older and involved in things such as the military,” Abere said.
lheckelm@ramapo.edu
