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(ARA) - At a time when lack of jobs is a lead story, it may be surprising to discover how many positions in essential industries are going unfilled because professionals with the expertise and career success lack the final qualification: an advanced degree. For these individuals it can mean a career not fully realized. For the state of Florida, it's a threat to our health, education and welfare. One innovative university, Florida State, set out to solve this problem. And is succeeding.
"Florida State University recognized that leadership positions in elementary and secondary schools, health care facilities, and social services agencies are going unfilled because people who have years of experience to build on need an advanced degree to qualify," says Sandra Calhoun, director of the Office for Distributed and Distance Learning at FSU. "But they can't change their life situation to attend an on-campus master's degree program."
The solution? "Since they can't come to us, we developed online programs that can be delivered to them."
Florida State University's online graduate programs allow people with bachelor's degrees in education, nursing and social work to pursue their master’s degrees without ever coming to the Tallahassee campus.
"That’s critical for working people who can’t afford to give up their jobs," says Calhoun. "But these programs can't be next-best. They have to be equal in quality to their on-campus counterparts, or we wouldn't put our FSU seal on them."
Statistics support Calhoun's claim: Graduate students in the university's online programs are doing as well or better on standardized exams than on-campus students.
"The fact that many of these people work in health care, education, and social work just makes our online programs that much more important, especially in Florida, where the need for these professionals is especially pressing. So we could call these three particular advanced degrees 'sunshine degrees,' because they're in crucial areas where higher education needs to shine its light, and because people earning these degrees will help to create a brighter future," she says.
During the 2003-4 academic year, baccalaureate nursing programs in Florida had to turn away 1,800 qualified applicants, according to data collected by the Florida Association of Colleges of Nursing, because there weren't enough faculty members to teach them.
That's hundreds of potential nurses who could fill positions created by growth in the health care system. "And that," according to Dr. Katherine Mason, Dean of Florida State University’s School of Nursing, "along with the baby boomers who are now retiring, has left us without enough experienced and qualified people out there to keep the system healthy. The problem has a simple answer: We need more nursing faculty. But in order for people with nursing degrees to qualify as nurse educators, they need master’s degrees.’’
Depending on how much time they can devote to their online studies, students can usually earn a Nurse Educator master's degree from Florida State in about two years.
There's a critical need for people to fill leadership roles in agencies that deal with the needs of our nation’s children and the elderly, both in government and the private sector, according to a 2001 study on the social work industry commissioned by the Hartford Foundation.
And it's likely to get worse.
“As the baby boomers age, they will need to turn to such places as social security offices, centers that handle veteran’s affairs, nursing homes and hospices," says Janet Berry, director of Distance Learning and Part-time Programs for Florida State’s College of Social Work. "At the same time, the juvenile justice system will need more workers, and so will agencies that handle mental health issues. There just aren’t enough people out there with advanced degrees that qualify them to do the work.”
FSU is the only school in the country with an accredited online program where qualified students can earn a clinical master’s degree in social work. In addition to the online courses, students must also complete an online seminar and a two-semester internship in their field. The internship can be done at a facility in their hometown.
“After completing our degree, students are qualified to work the front lines in state agencies dealing with child welfare, adoption, juvenile justice and elderly issues," says Berry, "or they can work in hospices, or in nursing homes dealing with such issues as death and dying; or they can go into private practice as a licensed clinical social worker. It’s a very versatile degree.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there will be a 13 percent increase in job openings for principals, superintendents and other school administrators between now and 2010. The most likely candidates to fill these jobs, experienced teachers, have been hard pressed to find or attend a local university to earn the advanced degree required to move into these positions.
In response to teachers' needs, FSU developed a hybrid program, in which current teachers fulfill course requirements partly online and partly through weekend face-to-face meetings at several sites in Florida.
"If you've ever taught in an elementary or secondary school," says Dr. Michael Biance, coordinator of the FSU Educational Leadership/Administration program, "you know how reluctant you are to give up your commitment to students to attend a weekday on-campus program. That's why FSU is so committed to this format of the master's degree program."
To learn more about all the online graduate programs offered by Florida State University, log on to learnonline.fsu.edu or call (850) 644-8004.
Courtesy of ARA Content
