Online instruction also offers new opportunities for international partnerships. UNCW has already begun the necessary cultural and technological transformations on campus needed to respond to the global, information technology partnerships that will develop in the 21st century. Students in the experimental virtual university will be utilizing some of our advanced technological tools. Students who participate in the virtual university will become part of an international online learning community where they will interact with professors and diverse students. Many educators agree that students learn best when the educational process is interactive between the teacher and student.
Students learn when teachers function as mentors to students.
Students learn when students can make connections across disciplines and can integrate these disciplines when problem solving. Students learn when they are offered life-skills beyond the content of the curriculum. Very importantly, at UNCW, we believe that education should be global, taking advantage of our international resources. It should connect faculty and students from diverse cultures and geographical regions and encourage them to share their creative solutions to global problems. Our vision of the future includes such a virtual university -a learning environment that harnesses the talent and resources of many cultures to improve the quality of life everywhere.