University of Massachusetts

The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The system includes four universities, a medical school, and a satellite campus,with system administration in Boston and Shrewsbury.The system is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and across its campuses enrolls 73,000 students.

The UMass system is ranked 57th in the World in 2015 for its Innovative Achievements according to Reuters and was ranked 91-100 in the world by reputation in 2015 by Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

In 2012, the state of Massachusetts introduced $607 million in new bond funding to advance high-quality instructional and research facility projects throughout the UMass system.In 2012, research expenditures for the UMass system were close to $600 million.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the flagship and largest school in the UMass system. It was also the first one established, dating back to 1863, when it was founded as the Massachusetts Agricultural College. The University of Massachusetts Medical School was founded in 1962, and is located in Worcester. The University of Massachusetts Boston, originally established in 1964, was merged with Boston State College in 1982. In 1991, the University of Lowell and Southeastern Massachusetts University joined the system as the University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, respectively.

In 2014, the state of Massachusetts gave $5.2 million to the Springfield satellite center to allow the university to complete construction and buy furnishings.The satellite center, administered by the Amherst campus, opened in March 2014, registering students for September 2014.Programs include nursing, education, business administration, addiction counseling, and GED classes.

University of Massachusetts Intercampus Graduate School of Marine Sciences and Technology is a graduate degree program offering Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy and Professional Science Master's Degree.The graduates receive a joint degree from all four of the main UMass campuses.

The University of Massachusetts is governed by a lay Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees functions as a legislative body dealing mainly with questions of policy. The Board is not an administrative or management board. In certain rare instances when required by the Massachusetts General Laws, it may function as an appeal body. The Board establishes the general policies governing the University, but has delegated many powers to the President and, through the President, to campus administrators for day-to-day-operations.

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Penn State World Campus

Penn State World Campus or "Penn State Online" is the online campus of The Pennsylvania State University. Launched in 1998, the World Campus grew out of the University's long and distinguished history in distance education that began in 1892. The mission of the World Campus is to extend Penn State's undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs to learners who cannot attend another Penn State campus because of geography or life factors. The World Campus currently offers more than 120 online undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs in partnership with Penn State academic units, with additional programs being added to the curriculum on a continuing basis.World Campus offices and a major part of its technical infrastructure are located in the Outreach Building at Innovation Park on the University Park Campus.

Penn State started offering distance education courses in 1892, when it launched one of the nation's first correspondence study programs to farmers around Pennsylvania. More than one hundred years later, in 1998, the University reaffirmed its commitment to providing accessible learning to all who need it with the launching of its World Campus.

The World Campus uses multiple technologies to make some of Penn State's most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate, and continuing professional education programs available anytime, anywhere through the world wide web, computer interfacing, and other media.

Penn State World Campus offers undergraduate and graduate degrees online. Students must be accepted into the appropriate College for their chosen major after the initial acceptance into World Campus. For instance, a student wanting to major in Information Sciences and Technology must be accepted by the College of Information Sciences and Technology located at Penn State's University Park campus. The online courses are taught by the same faculty on campus and the required coursework is the same for both on campus and World Campus students. After graduating, World Campus students earn the same exact degree as University Park campus students and attend the same graduation ceremony.

Some World Campus courses require students to take proctored exams at locally approved educational institutes. Additionally, some courses require assignments to be completed in a live setting on webcam to ensure that the actual student is completing the assigned work. For instance, foreign language courses require video recordings of students conversing among their classmates in a live video conference in order to earn credit for oral exams. Such measures help maintain the academic integrity of the university's online courses.

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University of Florida

The University of Florida’s (UF) online forensic science distance education programs cater to working professionals and students who have completed their Bachelor of Science degrees. It is the largest forensic science program in the world and has been awarded the Award for Excellence in Distance Education by the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC).

The program offers six areas of concentration, each as a certificate and/or master’s degree. The faculty involved in these programs represent the fields of forensic science, toxicology, DNA & serology, drug chemistry, environmental forensics, death investigation, and veterinary forensics.

Each course within UF’s program is conducted online and is made up of specific topic modules. Most modules contain course notes supplemented with images, animations, and case studies. Students are provided constant access to course modules, which are released over the duration of the UF semester.

The forensic toxicology concentration is offered by the UF College of Veterinary Medicine. It is geared toward general and advanced principles of toxicology, forensic toxicology, and drug metabolism, providing a foundation in analytical techniques, pharmacokinetics, drug elimination and toxicology. Courses in pharmacology, postmortem toxicology, expert testimony, and laboratory quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures are also featured.

The forensic drug chemistry concentration is offered by the UF College of Pharmacy. It is structured to provide foundations in analytical techniques, drug pharmacology, forensic drug chemistry and organic synthesis. The program specifically features courses in pharmacology, medicinal chemistry of drugs of abuse, drug synthesis, expert testimony, and laboratory QA/QC procedures.

The forensic DNA & serology concentration is offered by the UF College of Pharmacy. It is intended to provide foundations in serology, blood spatter interpretation, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics and the theory of DNA analysis. This program has been designed to meet the FBI National Standards education requirements for DNA technical leaders and supervisors.

The forensic science concentration is offered by the UF College of Pharmacy. It consists of 18 credits of required courses and an additional 14 credits of electives covering a range of forensic disciplines. Courses in forensic medicine, forensic anthropology, drug analysis, toxicology, entomology, criminalistics, environmental forensics, biological evidence, blood spatter, and forensic DNA analysis are also offered within the program.

The Professional Science Master's degree is offered as a cooperative effort between UF's College of Pharmacy and Webber International University's Graduate School of Business. It consists of 36 credits, 27 credits focused on technical forensic science content from UF and 9 credits focused on professional business content from Webber International University.

The University of Florida's Maples Center for Forensic Medicine offers a MS degree concentration in veterinary forensic sciences. This program is in partnership with the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). It is the only program of its type in the United States. The program is unique for its application of forensic science and medicine to veterinary medicine and animal related crimes including animal cruelty cases.

Ranks -

• The UF online forensic science program is the largest forensic science program in the world with over 700 graduates and students from 33 different countries who are either enrolled or have completed their master’s degree.

• Winner of the 2006 Award for Excellence in Distance Education from the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC).

• Program director Dr. Ian Tebbett, Ph.D., was awarded the Irving Award by ADEC in 2011 and the 2010 Outstanding Leadership Award by the U.S. Distance Learning Association.

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