This was no easy feat as students experienced the rigors of a whole new method of learning on the Web. While Seton Hall is not the first university to offer classes online, it was first to offer a variety of high quality online degree programs. Two new programs are scheduled for next year include a MSN for nurse practitioners and a BSN for registered nurses. The unique feature of this internet-based learning is that the learning community is formed on the World Wide Web. The center for learning is shifted from the classroom to the Internet where faculty and students interact every day through a learning team approach.
Students begin and end their graduate program together as a class.
Working with faculty, tutors, and executive mentors, the learning team builds continuity and collegiality as its members progress through the program. The online MHA program consists of five sequential competency modules in courses that include such areas as managing change, financial management, decision making, analysis, and leadership. The program culminates with a capstone specialty project being completed by each individual student. The program demanded an average of 20 to 25 hours a week of each student's time. Included were time for reading, participation in chat rooms with professors and students, and contributing to threaded discussions weekly on specific topics.