Union Institute finalizing purchase of Vt. College

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by irat, Aug 12, 2001.

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  1. irat

    irat New Member

    Dr. Judith Sturnick just gave a press conference on the purchase of VT. College by Union Institute. She said an agreement has been reached, but that all the paperwork has not been signed. She expects a two year transition while Vt. College becomes a unit of Union.
    Dr.Sturnick described Union programs as based on face-to-face mentoring. The goal is to become an international university. Union will develop a plan to incorporate some on-line and virtual components. She stated that 90% of Union faculty are located outside of Ohio.
    A firm has been hired to help Union with renaming, marking & branding. Two names mentioned were "New Union University" and "Union International Univerisity". She also said it may not be either of these names.
    The combined student body is 3,000 (2,000 Union, 1,000 Vt. College). This is the first time Union will own a college campus with dorms. The dorm space may be used to have face-to-face seminars and mentoring sessions in Vt.
    An oddity is that as a part of Union, Vt. College will now be accredited through North Cental, even though the campus has not moved an inch.
    Comments: A total of 3,000 students does not sound like more than a ripple in the adult degree market. Despite considering itself a non-traditional institution Union appears to have lagged behind many colleges in on-line courses and programs. I believe at one time Union claimed it would never have bricks and mortor. What a difference a decade can make. Finally, with a 2 year transition period, little may change soon. irat
     
  2. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I wonder what that means. Hopefully it means developing a real distance education university that offers the full array of university majors (where possible) by DL. Kind of an American UNISA. But hopefully it doesn't only mean that they intend to market themselves more aggressively abroad.

    I think the former is OK but they can probably do better. But I don't like the latter. For some reason I think that any university with the word "international" in its name sounds tacky.

    Humm... It's NUU! It's either hip and ultramodern or else it's a cow, I haven't figured out which...

    Does Vermont College operate any on-campus programs? It has an attractive campus I understand, with some old buildings.

    It's pretty good sized. Large enough to have a critical mass, but in no danger of becoming a U. of Phoenix-type DL monster either.

    I think that is probably the result of its doctoral-level emphasis and its non-traditional learning model.

    Which suggests two questions:

    Will the "new" Union place more emphasis on undergraduate programs? And will it back away from its 60's-70's interdisciplinary social-change roots a little bit and become more of a full-service DL university?
     
  3. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I think this is a good fit (except changing the name) for both schools. It brings Master's level programs into Union, and also provides a stable residency location for those of us on the east coast.

    Just don't tamper with the name!!!!

    Bruce
     

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