NEWS

Expansion has been a common theme this year for Louisiana Tech University.

That theme continued on a sunny afternoon Tuesday when the University officially announced the launch of Tech Online, a new initiative that serves and benefits distance learners and graduate professionals.

The Tech Online initiative is administered by the Academic Success Center (ASC) on the campus of the National Cyber Research Park in Bossier where dignitaries, educators and the public gathered for a brief announcement ceremony and ribbon-cutting.

Current program offerings include Health Informatics and Information Management and Interdisciplinary Studies at the undergraduate level and many graduate degree programs such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Engineering and Technology Management, and the Master of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Tech Online includes graduate certificates such as Data Science and Technical Writing and Communication, each a stand-alone program or stackable with the graduate degree programs.

“Tech Online presents an exciting opportunity to educate a unique population of students by engaging them in a way that is relatively new for Louisiana Tech University,” Dr. Donna Thomas, Tech’s Interim Provost, said. “We will offer many of the same high-quality, accredited programs that we offer on campus, and we look forward to adding new programs, particularly at the undergraduate level, in strategic and deliberate ways.

“Tech Online will make a Louisiana Tech education available to place-bound students and those who can’t access traditional educational settings because they are busy with their careers and families,” Thomas said.

Tech Online offers those who didn’t have the traditional opportunity to go to college a way to gain a higher education in a unique way and be helped by Tech to have the same academic experience as its on-campus students.

Just last week, Tech was a part of the ribbon-cutting for the Louisiana Tech Research Institute, just 200 yards from the ASC in Research Park, something that was only in the planning stages 15 years ago but is now a vibrant part of the community, state and nation, Tech President Dr. Les Guice said.

“I’ve got chill bumps, seeing parking lots with lots of cars in them here,” he said. “I remember sitting here all those years ago with members of the community, trying to figure out how we could partner with Bossier Parish Community College and Bossier to leverage for the community and region what was coming to Barksdale Air Force Base. With the right facilities, people and programs in place, we knew the cyber community could make a difference across the nation.

“With the introduction of Tech Online, this is another special day,” he said. “We’ve been teaching online, but now we have our headquarters here and more programs available. We’re also providing student success coaches to help you line up your plan and be successful as you go through.”

Jerona Washington, Director of Online Learning Initiatives and the Academic Success Center, said that early in her career, she found her niche “working with adult learners. During countless student interactions, I gathered feedback on how to improve online instructional learning and student support services. Tech Online assembled an outstanding team dedicated to online enrollment, on-boarding, advising and coaching approaches focused on student success, and providing students access to exclusive virtual workshops.”

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to collaborate with both academics and student affairs to create what will be a historical marker for this institution,” Washington said.

A Bossier City native, Washington has over a decade of experience in post-secondary education. She is a graduate of Northwestern State University with an MA in Student Affairs in Higher Education. No stranger to distance learning as a student, Washington is currently working on her Doctorate in Educational Leadership (EdD), one of Tech’s many online graduate programs.

To learn more about the programs and opportunities available through Tech Online, please visit https://online.latech.edu/.