Press Release
August 22, 2000
New Shady Grove Education Center Kicks Off Its First Semester Aug.
31
The Universities at Shady Grove - a new education center for participating
institutions of the University System of Maryland (USM) - will begin its
inaugural semester with a public convocation on Thursday, August 31 at the
center, 9640 Gudelsky Drive in Rockville. The event will offer students the
chance to meet their professors and the Shady Grove staff, and learn more about
this new opportunity in Montgomery County to earn a four-year degree in a
daytime USM program. The kick-off will begin at 9:30 a.m. The public is invited.
Leaders from the USM, its Board of Regents, local business leaders, officials
from Montgomery College, and faculty of the USM institutions will be on hand for
the event.
The Universities at Shady Grove represent an opportunity for students at
Montgomery College and other area community colleges, as well as individuals
seeking a degree completion program, to complete the final two years of their
undergraduate degrees much closer to home. They can transfer their credits and
finish with a degree from a participating USM college or university.
Students will pursue degree programs in general and liberal studies in business
and management, computer science and computer and information science,
psychology, nursing, and early childhood/special education. As of this fall,
four USM institutions, including the University of Maryland University College,
the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Bowie State University, and the
University of Baltimore are represented at the center. Programs in accounting,
business, marketing, hotel and restaurant management, social work, information
systems, and special education/elementary and secondary education will be added
in fall 2001.
USM institutions have been offering evening and weekend programs at Shady
Grove for over a decade, but this fall marks the first time that various
institutions will provide full-time programs during the day.
Donald N. Langenberg, chancellor of the USM and a major proponent of new
ventures in higher education, said the opening of Shady Grove represents the
beginning of the 21st century in public higher education in Maryland, as well as
a model for market-driven education imperatives.
"The old model for higher education, both public and private, was the same
as that of a hospital or a shopping center - the consumer, in the form of the
student, traveled to the institution and took what the institution had to offer,
period," Langenberg said. "Now, with the advent of lifelong
learning, career goals that can change literally overnight, and the development
of incredible computer power, higher education must act on and react to a much
broader and deeper economy. Simply put, that means that institutions will go
where the students are, and will be able to provide the courses that students
need when they need them. Shady Grove demonstrates
that we can increase our flexibility without sacrificing quality. It's a big
step forward."
One of Maryland's fastest growing markets for students is Montgomery County,
where the new economy is generating an intense need for training, reengineering,
and, perhaps most importantly, non-traditional hours of operation. Thus, Shady
Grove's hours of 8 in the morning until 10 at night.
Contact:
Chris Hart
Phone: 301/445-2739
Pager: 301/507-2316
E-mail: chart@usmd.edu
