Channel 50 video interview with Dr. Myers

 

Daniel Webster College reaching out to students displaced by Hurricane Katrina

Providing free online college courses, as well as free on-campus placement for college undergraduates affected by disaster

 

(Nashua, NH) — For college students affected by the ravages of Hurricane Katrina who hail from the New England region, Daniel Webster College (DWC) is offering the opportunity to attend the fall semester free at the technology, engineering and business institution in Nashua, N.H.

 

An independent, professionally-oriented college located on 54-acres in New Hampshire’s second largest city, Daniel Webster College features nationally ranked baccalaureate degree programs in aviation that are well complemented by innovative programs in business and management, computer science, information technology, aeronautical and mechanical engineering, sport management, and social science.

 

“It is incumbent upon us through our educational mission to assist in the best way we can to provide educational opportunities to those whose personal and educational lives have been severely and unimaginably disrupted by Hurricane Katrina,” said DWC President Dr. Robert Myers. “For students attending those affected colleges and universities who are looking for an intimate and student-centered educational environment in which to continue or begin their professional studies, Daniel Webster may be able to fit the bill.”  

 

Students in good standing with their home institutions and who are a good academic fit with Daniel Webster College will be accepted, with the opportunity to return to their original schools once those institutions become operational. A residential semester at Daniel Webster costs $15,865, including $11,065 for tuition, $500 for technology and other fees, and $4,225 for room and board. Daniel Webster College will not charge these students tuition if they have already paid to their home institutions the charges that they would normally incur for the Fall semester, in essence treating them as "tuition exchange" recipients. The college will work with individual students to have their aid from public sources moved to DWC with them. Additionally, the college will make any other needed accommodations for those in extenuating circumstances. While the College anticipates that most of the students who may wish to come to Daniel Webster will commute to the college, a limited number can be accommodated on campus on a first come/first served basis.

Should you know of any area students studying in institutions affected by Hurricane Katrina, they are encouraged to speak to Daniel Webster admissions counselors by contacting admission@dwc.edu or calling 1-800-325-6876 or 603-577-6000.  Daniel Webster may be visited on the web at www.dwc.edu.

Additionally, as a member of The Sloan Consortium, an international association of colleges and universities committed to quality online education, Daniel Webster College is offering free 8-week online accelerated courses so that students may keep learning, no matter where they happen to be in the country.

 

The special 8-week college courses for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina will enable them to continue their education at no cost. According to Dr. Robert E. Sweo, Dean of Daniel Webster’s Graduate and Continuing Studies, he expects that students from the what is being called the “Sloan Semester” to take advantage of the college’s online business, humanities, and computer/technical classes.

 

“One of the great advantages of online learning is the flexibility in brining together people in disparate parts of the country in crises such as this. It seems the perfect solution for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.”

 

The Southern Regional Education Board, with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, developed the “Sloan Semester.” Their program at website www.sloansemester.org/, is available to students, regardless of academic discipline, displaced from colleges shut down due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. It has been estimated that as many as 175,000 students are displaced this semester due to the disaster.

 

Because the courses offered through the Sloan Semester and Daniel Webster College start in October and are completely online, students have the flexibility to have some time to get their personal lives back together and the geographical freedom to not have to attend a face-to-face classroom in an institution far from where they intended. The program will also make it easier for students to return to their institutions once those colleges have recovered from the hurricane damage. Students are not limited to one college; they can pick from any online course offered from any participating institution and combine them as one set, allowing them a better chance of replacing more of the courses they intended to take.

 

A major media campaign is underway in the affected region to make students aware of the “Sloan Semester.”

 

Daniel Webster College features nationally ranked degree programs in aviation that are well complemented by innovative programs in business and management, computer science, information technology, engineering, sport management, and social science. Through its division of Graduate, Continuing and Continuing Studies, the college offers an accelerated evening MBA program, a new online MBA for aviation professionals beginning next January, a non-traditional evening air traffic control program starting this fall, the EXCEL degree completion program, continuing studies, and a variety of certificate and distance learning programs. For more information, visit www.dwc.edu or call 603-577-6000.

 

Sloan-C (www.sloan-c.org) is the nation's largest association of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education.  Its mission is to help learning organizations continually improve quality, scale, and breadth according to their own distinctive missions, so that education will become a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines.