Fort Towson

The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC, formerly University of Maryland University College) is a public university in Adelphi, Maryland. It is the largest institution in the University System of Maryland[5] Established in 1947 with origins in the College of Special and Continuation Studies of the University of Maryland, College Park for mid-career working professionals and non-traditional students, UMGC offers online, hybrid and face-to-face instruction at education centers across the Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area, throughout Maryland, and across the world.

UMGC is open to all applicants for undergraduate programs,[6] and is among the top 10 recipients of the federal G.I. Bill benefits.[7] The university offers 125 academic programs in online, hybrid and face-to-face classes, including bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, as well as undergraduate and graduate certificates.[5] UMGC is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.[8]

History

Inn & Conference Center

UMGC is an outgrowth of the evening program for adults at the University of Maryland, which began in the 1920s. In 1947, the College of Special and Continuation Studies (CSCS) was established.[9] In 1959, The CSCS became the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). In 1970, UMUC became an independent institution, and was a founding member of the University System of Maryland in 1988.[9]

UMUC formerly had an international campus in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, (near Stuttgart), until 2002. It also ran a two-year residential campus in Munich, Germany, from 1950 to 1992, which then moved to Augsburg, Germany, from 1993 to 1994, and then to Mannheim, Germany, in 1995 until it finally closed in 2005.[10] The residential campus offered a two-year associate degree and mainly served high school graduate children of U.S. military and government personnel stationed in Europe.[citation needed]

In 2023 UMGC has more than 175 classroom and service locations on military installations and other education centers throughout the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, as well as in Asia.[9] In 2004, UMUC shared the ICDE Prize of Excellence from the International Council for Open and Distance Education.[11][12]

University name

Known as University of Maryland University College up until 2019, it was a college in the traditional American sense of the word, albeit one associated with a university—hence , "University College." The "University of Maryland" prefix indicated the historical entity to which the college belonged originally. In the university's name, "University College" represented "the specialized concentration on professional development," while "University of Maryland" represented the affiliation of the university with the University System of Maryland.[13]

When UMUC first opened in 1947, the school was named College of Special and Continuation Studies within the University of Maryland, College Park.[13] In 1953, Raymond Ehrensberger, chancellor of the institution at that time, wanted to change the name to something more meaningful and less cumbersome for people to say and remember. Early suggestions for the name included College of General Studies, College of Adult Education and University College.[13]

In 1959, Chancellor Ehrensberger persuaded the University of Maryland's Board of Regents to change the name to University of Maryland University College. The name "University College" was adopted from the British university system to depict an educational institution offering "courses and programs from all academic departments outside the university's walls and normal class times."[13] Therefore, UMUC was not a division of the University of Maryland, College Park, but rather a separate institution within the University System of Maryland.[citation needed]

In 2019, the university announced that its name would change to "University of Maryland Global Campus."[14] The name change request was submitted as SB 201[15] and HB 319[16] in the 2019 regular session of the Maryland General Assembly. The name change was enacted into law on April 18, 2019 when the bill was signed by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.[17]

Academics

UMGC is one of the largest online public universities in the United States.[18][19] Courses are delivered in online, hybrid and face-to-face formats. Even before the advent of online education by way of the World Wide Web, UMGC was a distance education pioneer and offered distance learning using its WebTycho interface by way of dial-up access. UMGC later adopted the use of the Web for connectivity to its online classrooms, as well as using television and correspondence courses to deliver course content.

Student and Faculty Services Center

The university has three schools:

  • School of Integrative and Professional Studies
  • School of Business
  • School of Cybersecurity and Information Technology

UMGC offers more than 30 bachelor's degree programs and undergraduate certificates, awarded in cybersecurity, biotechnology, business management, computers/information technology, communications, criminal justice/legal studies, and social sciences.[20] Undergraduate students can earn credit through coursework and prior-learning programs, which recognize professional and workplace experience, including military service.[21]

UMGC offers more than 55 master's degree programs, graduate certificates, and doctoral degrees.[22] Most graduate programs are available in online and hybrid formats.

U.S. military locations

UMGC offers face-to-face courses and support for students at U.S. military locations in Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Guam, Japan, Okinawa, Singapore, South Korea, Diego Garcia, Spain, Italy.[23][24]

Campuses

Headquarters/main campus

The headquarters for UMGC is located in Adelphi, Maryland near the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. Until late 2000, the UMGC headquarters was listed in College Park, Maryland. In an attempt to establish its own identity as an independent university, UMGC changed its postal address to Adelphi, an unincorporated community that borders College Park. The address change with the U.S. Postal Service involved no physical move of people and facilities. The marketing decision to change its postal address was one of many undertaken by UMGC to distinguish the university as one of the largest distance-education centers, with over 248,000 students enrolled worldwide in FY 2015.[12]

College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center adjacent to the University of Maryland in Adelphi, Maryland[25]

UMGC Headquarters

UMGC retrofitted its headquarters in Adelphi, Md, to meet "green" building requirements for LEED certification.[26] UMGC followed the same process as it did to achieve LEED certification in 2005 for its Inn & Conference Center, which became the first hotel complex in the United States to achieve certification as a green building.[26][27]

Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area

In the greater Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, classes are held at 20 locations, including on the campus of University of Maryland, College Park. The satellite campuses offer varying academic services, including advising and computer labs.

UMGC operates a facility in Dorsey Station (Md) adjacent to the Dorsey MARC Train Station.[28] In partnership with Maryland community colleges and other University System of Maryland institutions, UMGC offers courses and degree programs at several higher education centers throughout the state. It also offers classes and advising services at the College of Southern Maryland. A consortium of universities led by Anne Arundel Community College, including UMGC, operates a higher education center adjacent to Arundel Mills mall in Hanover, Maryland.[29] In addition, the University offers courses at the Universities at Shady Grove and University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, which are part of the University System of Maryland.

Global locations

In Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, UMGC offers courses on military bases for service members, contractors, Federal employees, and their families.[30] In addition to distance learning via the Web, the university offers on-site, instructor-led classes and/or services at 175 overseas US military bases in 20 countries throughout the world.[9] Overseas instruction is coordinated through its Europe Division,[31] which covers USCENTCOM installations in the Middle East, and Asia Division.[32] UMGC divisional headquarters are located in Kaiserslautern, Germany (following the closure of United States Army Garrison Heidelberg) and on Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan, respectively.[33][34]

Students

UMGC specializes in distance learning for adult, non-traditional students in Maryland, across the country, and around the world by operating education centers and offering online instruction.[35] In FY 2023 the university enrolled almost 53,000[12] military-affiliated students from around the world.[12] In FY 2023, more than 32,000 Marylanders attended UMGC.[12]

About three-quarters of the undergraduate students attend part-time.[36] Over ninety-two percent of UMGC students are employed full-time.[37] The majority of undergraduate students are female.[36] The median age of stateside undergraduate students is 31. Almost two-thirds of the graduate MBA students are married, half are female, and over a third are minorities.[38] Over a third of UMGC's stateside students were African-American, and this minority group earned over a third of the degrees awarded by the university.

Rankings and awards

UMGC was ranked #1 in The Military Times “Best for Vets: Colleges 2015” list of top online and nontraditional schools in 2015.[39] Military Times “Best for Vets” is one of the most respected and comprehensive rankings for veterans who are considering higher education.[according to whom?] The publication looked at U.S. Department of Education statistics on student success and academic quality, as well as areas such as university culture, student support, and academic policies in evaluating hundreds of schools.[citation needed]

U.S. News & World Report ranked UMGC #131-171 in Regional Universities North for its 2022 edition of Best Colleges.[40]

Notable alumni

Academia

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Januarius Jingwa Asongu 2002 President of Saint Monica University [41]
Scheherazade Forman Dean of Student Development Services at Prince George's Community College [42]
Arthur Quinn Tyler Jr. 1978 Former president of Sacramento City College [43]

Arts and entertainment

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Dale Dye United States Marine Corps retired captain and actor. [44]
Deanna McCray-James 2011, 2008, 2005 Mrs. District of Columbia America 2009, Mrs. Maryland United States 2005 [45]

Business

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Robert Hastings Senior Vice President of Communications for Bell Helicopter [46][47]
Jeffrey O Business executive and writer

Government and public policy

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Elizabeth Bobo Former member of the Maryland House of Delegates
Frank D. Boston Former member of the Maryland House of Delegates
Christopher Emery Current Chief Enterprise Architect of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and former White House Usher
Hakan Fidan Chief of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization [48][49]
(in Turkish)
Michael A. Grinston 16th and current Sergeant Major of the Army
Thomas E. Hutchins Former Maryland State Delegate for District 28 and former Secretary of the Maryland State Police
Vivek Kundra 2001 (MS) First Federal Chief Information Officer of the United States [50]
David Mitchell Current University of Maryland, College Park chief of police and former Secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security [51]
Robert R. Neall Former Maryland State Senator and State Delegate
Edward J. Perkins 19th United States Ambassador to the United Nations and former Director of the Diplomatic Corps for the United States Department of State
James N. Robey 1979 State Senator, 13th District of Maryland [52]
Rory Respicio Democratic Majority Leader for the Legislature of Guam [53]
Thom Tillis 1997 Current junior United States senator for North Carolina
Joseph Tydings Former United States Attorney for Maryland
John William Vessey, Jr. 1963 Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and retired Army general [54]

Sports

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Ray Lewis 2004 former NFL football player with the Baltimore Ravens [55]
Jalen Rose 2005 former NBA player and current broadcaster on ESPN [56]

Notable students

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Frederick H. Bealefeld III Former Baltimore police commissioner [57]
Barbara A. Frush Current Maryland State Delegate for District 21 [58]

Notable faculty

Name Department Notability Reference
Betsy Boze Senior Fellow at the AASCU
Jiří Březina Current geology professor
Barrie Ciliberti Former Maryland Delegate and dean at Bowie State University [59]
Eric B. Dent Mathematics Complexity theory expert
Donald L. Graham District Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
J. Greg Hanson Computer Science and Information Technology First Assistant Sergeant at Arms and Chief Information Officer of the United States Senate
Donna Leon Author of the Brunetti series, including Death at La Fenice [60]
Patrick Mendis Public Policy & Trade Author of Trade for Peace and Commercial Providence [61]
Charlene R. Nunley Former president of Montgomery College, former member of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, and current professor [62]
Walter Ratliff Humanities/Philosophy Associated Press journalist
Arnold Resnicoff Former U.S. Navy Chaplain and National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee
David P. Weber Accounting Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Fellow and former Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, and whistleblower, concerning the Bernard Madoff, Allen Stanford, and Cyber-compromise matters. [63][64]
Christopher Yavelow Composer

References

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External links