UMassOnline Graduate Behavioral Intervention in Autism Program Gains
National Distinction with Sloan Consortium Annual Award
Most Outstanding Online Learning and Teaching Program Collaboratively
Developed by UMass Lowell, UMass Medical School-Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Center and UMassOnline
Since Program’s Online Debut in 2005,
Enrollments Have More than Quadrupled
SHREWSBURY, Mass. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) October 21, 2008 --
UMassOnline
Chief Executive Officer David Gray announced today that the Sloan
Consortium (Sloan-C), an institutional and professional leadership
organization dedicated to integrating online education into the
mainstream of higher education, has selected UMass
Lowell’s Online Graduate Behavioral
Intervention in Autism Program for its annual award in the category
of ‘Most Outstanding Online Teaching and
Learning Program’ in the nation. This
innovative online program, introduced in the Fall of 2005 and designed
to better prepare families and professionals to respond to challenges
presented by the growing population of children diagnosed with autism
and related disorders, was collaboratively developed by UMass Lowell,
the UMass Medical School-EK Shriver Center, and UMassOnline.
“This national award distinction from Sloan-C,
which has been supporting outstanding online learning implementations
and research since 1992,” said Mr. Gray, “is
a tribute to the University of Massachusetts’
unique ability to draw upon its broad-based, system-wide resources for
the collaborative development of a much needed and very timely online
program. The program draws its strength through combining our institution’s
tremendous academic expertise, the latest in scientific and medical
knowledge, and our proven online technology development and adaptation
for distance learning.”
In designating the UMass
Lowell Online Graduate Behavioral Intervention in Autism Program for
this tribute, making it one of only twelve online excellence and
effectiveness award recipients this year, Sloan-C wrote that the
distinction was being awarded “For creating a
rigorous, high-quality online graduate program that meets the growing
need for individuals with expertise in dealing with the challenges of
autism.” As confirmed by the Autism
Society of America, in February 2007, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention issued their ADDME autism prevalence report. The
report, which looked at a sample of 8 year olds in 2000 and 2002,
concluded that the prevalence of autism had risen to 1 in every 150
American children, and almost 1 in 94 boys.
“The recognition of this Certificate is
rewarding to all of the faculty who have worked so diligently to make
sure that working professionals and parents with children who have
autism benefit from this much needed program,”
said Jacqueline F. Moloney, UMass Lowell Executive Vice Chancellor. “I
am extremely proud of the faculty and staff who worked so
collaboratively to build this online certificate as a highly
interactive, rich experience for the students who enroll in it.”
Drs. Richard Fleming, Assistant Professor and Charles Hamad, Associate
Director of the Shriver Center at UMass Medical School, commented, “Receiving
this Sloan-C award will only further the commitment of our collaborative
team to provide the best and most current online training program for
professionals and parents who on a daily basis impact the lives of
children with autism. This award is a great honor.”
The Sloan-C Annual Awards presentation will be held November 6, 2008 in
Orlando, Florida. More information: http://www.sloanconsortium.org/awards/2008sloan-c_awards_brochure.pdf
About Sloan-C
Originally funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Sloan-C is now a
non-profit, member-sustained organization helping institutions and
individual educators improve the quality, scale, and breadth of online
higher education. Sloan-C works to help make education a part of
everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any
time, in a wide variety of disciplines, by helping learning
organizations continually improve their online programs.
About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center has been a pioneer in research,
education, and service for people with developmental disabilities and
their families for over three decades. Founded in 1969, it was one of
the first Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research
Centers (MRDDRC) and University Centers of Excellence in Developmental
Disabilities (UCEDD) in the United States. From its inception, the
Shriver Center has been devoted to discovering the bases of
developmental disabilities, as well as preventing its causes, and to
supporting and facilitating the inclusion of people with developmental
disabilities and mental retardation into society.
About the University of Massachusetts Medical School
The University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the fastest
growing academic health centers in the country, has built a reputation
as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy
advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts
more than $179 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which
comes from federal funding sources. UMMS is the academic partner of
UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest health care provider in Central
Massachusetts.
About UMass Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell offers over 80 degree programs at
all levels through the doctorate, and presently has over 400 faculty
members and a student enrollment of more than 12,000. It has one of the
largest continuing education units in New England, offering a wide array
of fully-accredited, part-time courses, degrees and certificates to
adult learners on campus, online, and at company sites worldwide. Its
Continuing Studies Division was one of the early pioneers in online
education, and has been making UMass Lowell’s
traditional academic programs available to students all over the world
since 1996.
About UMassOnline
UMassOnline,
the online learning consortium of the University of Massachusetts,
provides the highest quality education offered by the UMass system in a
flexible, online format enabling students, professionals, and lifelong
learners to take courses anywhere, anytime. With 80 undergraduate and
graduate degree, certificate and professional
development programs and more than 1,500 courses, UMassOnline offers
one of the largest accredited
online programs available. Programs span the disciplines for which
the University is best known: liberal
arts, education,
management,
nursing,
public
health, information
technology, and other disciplines. For more about UMassOnline, go to www.umassonline.net
or visit our blog at www.umassonlineblog.com.
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