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Graduate took online track to her master's
By JULIE CHURCH
© St. Petersburg Times, EAST LAKE -- When Karen Lo received her master's degree Saturday, she didn't worry about tripping onstage at the graduation ceremony or forgetting to shake the dean's hand. Her main concern was logging on in time to hear her name called. Lo, 44, participated in the commencement exercises at Capella University in Minneapolis the same way she took all of her classes -- via the Internet. She completed her entire master's degree program with a 4.0 grade point average in human services without leaving her home. Lo and 250 other graduating students from as far away as Israel and Romania spent the past few years exchanging ideas, debating concepts and sharing experiences online through the university's e-mail and bulletin board system. "It really offers a broader education," Lo said. "I was able to exchange ideas with people from all over the country and internationally. One of my professors lived in Germany." Capella offers a variety of certificate, doctoral and master's degree programs, and also an undergraduate information technology program. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, which also accredits other institutions of higher learning in the upper Midwest, including Northwestern University and the University of Minnesota. Lo is married, works full time as a trainer and consultant, and has two teenage sons. Her schedule leaves her little time to attend classes at a traditional college or university. "Online classes gave me the flexibility to go to school and to do lots of other things," Lo said. More than 3,000 students are enrolled at Capella University, one of the only accredited online universities in the country, according to spokesman David Kargas. He said the demand for distance learning services is growing among busy professionals with little time to spend in a traditional university setting. "Capella provides a convenient learning environment for working adults who can't put things on hold to go back to college," Kargas said. "People who can't just say "Hey kids, I'll be back in four years.' " The cost to attend classes online is more than the cost of a state university but less than that of a private college, Kargas said. Lo said she paid more than $800 per class and took eight or nine classes during a two-year period. "It was expensive but well worth it," she said. Lo said she found the online curriculum more difficult than the undergraduate classes she took at Eckerd College. She has a bachelor's degree from Eckerd in human growth and development. "Each of the classes had a project," she said. "And I had to do four or five papers in each class. It was hard." Although Lo didn't actually cross the stage at her commencement ceremony, she was able to watch the graduation speeches and hear her name read through a Web cast of the ceremony. Her relatives and friends will also be able to log on at their convenience and share in the ceremony, as the university archives the commencement ceremonies on its Web site, http://www.capellauniversity.edu. "This is the future of education," Lo said. "In the academic world, people think you've got to be on campus to get a good education; but things are changing." -- Staff writer Julie Church can be reached at (727) 445-4229.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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