Oct. 23 will mark the first day of Allen Community College’s online GED program, being the first of its kind in southeast Kansas.
Julia Martin, director of adult education at the college, said the program’s goal is to create a new level of convenience for individuals who are working toward their GED, or general education development, certificate.
The program is an eight- to 10-week course that is completed entirely through online classes with ACC. Martin said the college avoided hiring new instructors for the course, and will rely on current staff for the online instruction. Students will be required to come to the campus for a 12-hour orientation, but that will be the only time they are required to step foot on ACC’s grounds, Martin said. Students are also required to meet “face-to-face” over the Internet with an instructor for four hours per week. She said the students could utilize a program such as Skype for the weekly meetings.
Martin said she believes it is important to maintain an up-to-date status when it comes to what courses are available online.
“Allen has always been a leader with online courses,” Martin said. “It’s important to keep that status for us and our students.”
Martin said students can take the course on their own time, with no set schedule for classes. The course does require a minimum amount of hours spent working toward the certificate per week.
The online class is a boon to students who are looking to save money. The course price will remain the same for the online registration — $25. Martin said the goal of the program is to provide an easier way for people in the community to succeed, and to give them options to do so.
“People such as a mother of three or a working dad don’t have a lot of time to complete a course on campus,” Martin said. “We need to give those people options.”
The GED program at ACC is a grant-funded operation. The state of Kansas honors GED graduates with a high school diploma upon completion of the 70-hour course.
ACC set to open online GED course
