About two years ago, when UMUC’s administration brainstormed for ideas to reach out to the community through its online education environment, an innovative initiative called the Better Opportunities Through Online Education Program was born. The program focuses on workforce development by partnering with community-based organizations that provide mentoring, promotional and recruitment support, and corporations that provide scholarship funding.

Students who cannot afford to enroll in, or find the time or means to enroll in, a traditional higher education program are provided with a computer and printer, Internet access, and the complete cost of tuition and textbooks under the working goal of completing one of four 18-semester-hour UMUC undergraduate online certificate programs: Introductory Accounting, General Computer Applications, General Management Studies, or Workplace Communications.

Under the direction of Beverly Lucas, the program is making substantial progress and could become a model for similar programs throughout the region and eventually nationwide. Currently 44 students dispersed throughout Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., Delaware and New Jersey, are actively enrolled in the program, with an additional 31 students coming on board by end of this year.

Additionally, since enrolling 11 students during the Fall of 2000 and starting with one community-based partner, Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, and several sponsoring foundations, the program has grown to 22 community-based partners and eight corporate funding agencies.

"The program is an attempt to bridge not only a digital divide, but an economic divide and an educational divide," says Lucas. Prospective students must go through a detailed application, pre-screening, orientation and training process before they are officially accepted and enrolled in the program.

The final part of the application process includes taking a four-week online study-skills course designed specifically for beginners to online learning. "The reason we do this is to make sure that the student understands what they are about to embark upon," says Lucas.

Prospective students are not officially accepted, and are not issued a computer, until they pass the online study-skills course. In order to actually take the study-skills course, they must find a computer workstation with an Internet connection, typically at their local library or through a friend, relative or employer who might give them access.

Since the program started, approximately 80 out of 200 applicants made it to the study-skills course. From those 80, 44 made it through the final passing process and started the program. One ambitious student, Serena Cook, who is a mother of three and works full-time in human resources for CVS Drugs, has earned a certificate in General Management Studies. Since completing the program, she has received a job promotion and has started working toward a four-year degree online.

Lucas says that in addition to the opportunity to earn a certificate and beyond, there are all kinds of unique success stories she is starting to hear. "The computer itself not only impacts the person who gets the scholarship, but it also impacts the entire household," she says. Other students who were unemployed found work after mentioning they were enrolled in the program during interviews with prospective employers.

"It’s really an awesome program, and it is really unique," says Lucas. "I have done a lot of research on other universities and what types of scholarships they are offering, and I have not found anything that matches what we are doing here at UMUC."