Similar to many adult learners, Brian Mikiten, a 38-year-old, married father of two, opted out of his pursuit of a higher education degree as he pursued a successful career and raised a family.

His career path started while a young student intern at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, where he wrote Fortran-based applications. "School quickly fell behind as work became more intense, and I found myself skipping semesters," he says. "After a year out, I had no plans to return to complete my degree. There was always a project that got in the way of classes, and my lack of a degree did not impact my earning potential."

His next career moves included being a consultant and business owner of a small research and development company that specialized in embedded systems development and biomedical applications, and later a job with a company that manufactures prison locking systems (Secure Control Systems, LLC), which he now owns.

Even though Mikiten seems to be at the top of his career, the need for a sound higher education has come back to him. "As a business owner involved in the design, engineering and installation of prison security systems, I find myself with the personal need to complete my degree," he claims.

So, Mikiten enrolled in RIT’s online bachelor of science Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology (E/MET) program, an intense five-year curriculum in which students complete core coursework online asynchronously in electrical, mechanical and manufacturing engineering technology as well as a three-course concentration in either manufacturing design and management or telecommunications.

"Because much of my work over the last twenty years has been both electrical and mechanical in nature, the E/MET program suits my needs and interest," he says.

Online learning at RIT takes advantage of the Internet and computer conferencing along with other multimedia technologies, such as videotaped and/or CD-ROM lectures, to deliver the classroom to the student’s home and computer connection. With more than 7,900 enrollments per academic year and 20 years of experience in distance learning, RIT offers students the benefit of top quality and tested anytime/anywhere, asynchronous online degree programs.

Mikiten, who lives and works in San Antonio, adds that he spent "almost a year" searching for a flexible online degree program available in a field that interests him. "I did extensive research on different engineering programs and found that only a few were legitimate. I asked for information from each school and even visited two of them. I then took the course catalogs to my local engineering school (at the University of Texas) and asked them which of the courses they would accept for credit (in the event that he may want to transfer credit). What I found was that RIT was the only school considered to be a legitimate, accredited university (that was available online)."

Mikiten has been in the E/MET program for almost two years and has been to the RIT campus several times for weekend laboratory course work that is required about once each year over the course of the five-year program. "One of the things about the E/MET program that keeps the accreditation in place is that you do have on-campus work," he says, referring to the weekend labs and also claiming, emphatically, that the labs are "intense, intense, intense.

"You show up on a Thursday night or Friday morning and you work all weekend in a laboratory, and very often there is a test involved. The professors are good; the students are good; and what I found is that the lab equipment is as good or better than what I have used. I walked into the materials testing lab and it was as good as what I used at Southwest Research, which is one of top three labs in the United States for research and development. I was quite impressed."

Mikiten also gives very high praise for RIT’s online learning support staff. "During my first quarter I found myself in awe with the distance learning support staff, the bookstore and my advisor. To this day I find the response of the entire distance learning staff to be as good as any industry or business I work with."

Regarding his web-based course work, Mikiten says that the "interaction between students and teachers in the distance learning program rivals that of an (on-campus) classroom." Referring to online classroom discussion boards that students are required to participate in, he says that the "ability to type your thoughts and feelings gives everyone a chance to respond without personalities getting in the way. The teachers are able to respond when their schedule allows and as a resulty a more meaningful interaction occurs."

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