Education

Sandburg to Offer Online Assoc. in Arts

WVIK, Quad Cities NPR | By Michelle O'Neill

Published March 30, 2017 at 5:37 PM CDT

Three people stand, looking at the tablet on wheels and its screen which shows Burt's face and shoulders.

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Sheldon is located in the classroom on the Main Campus in Galesburg.

Bill Gaither / Carl Sandburg College

A young woman sits at a desk and operates a computer. A screen is on behind her.

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Burt controls Sheldon with a computer that's 75 miles away at the College’s Branch Campus in Carthage.";

Bill Gaither / Carl Sandburg College

In the foreground, a student in a classroom listens as another student talks via the telepresence robot. It's a wheeled device with a tablet or notebook computer mounted on top. The screen shows the other student's face and torso.

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CSC student, Marlie Burt, communicates with classmates in her police administration and management course via Skype and a telepresence robot named Sheldon.

Bill Gaither / Carl Sandburg College

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CSC student, Marlie Burt, communicates with classmates in her police administration and management course via Skype and a telepresence robot named Sheldon.

Bill Gaither / Carl Sandburg College

Carl Sandburg College students will soon be able earn a degree by taking all their classes on the internet.

Next fall, the school in Galesburg will start offering an online Associate in Arts.

Summary

A woman wearing a blue blouse is sitting, smiling and talking. — Julie Gibb, V.P. of Academic Services at Carl Sandburg College, Galesburg, IL

Julie Gibb, Vice President of Academic Services, says Carl Sandburg College has been offering courses on the internet for more than 15 years. And the new, online degree program is a continuation of Sandburg's efforts to serve students, as technology and education change.

For some courses at Sandburg, students may attend in person, by Skype, or by using a telepresence robot. It's a wireless tablet or notebook computer on wheels, remotely controlled by the student. Gibb says the college has five, and they're named after the characters on the sit-com, "Big Bang Theory."

Sandburg students who earn their Associate in Arts online may choose from more than 50 classes. And the college belongs to the Illinois Community Colleges Online consortium, which gives students access to courses at about twenty other colleges across the state.