University Reporter

by Anne-Marie Kent

In the July 14th Chronicle of Higher Education, University of Georgia professor and former Georgia governor Zell Miller lists "10 Crucial Things the Next President Should Do for Colleges." Among them is recognizing "the tremendous ramifications of information technology for higher education.Miller writes, "Education is an important part of the emerging electronic culture that is changing our world."

If the newly-appointed dean of the Division of Corporate, Continuing, and Distance Education (CCDE), Dirk Messelaar, has his way, UMass Boston will be a regional leader in this new world. In only a few months, he has commissioned five working groups composed of faculty, professional, and classified staff from throughout the university. The result: a seven-page draft outline of nearly 30 specific objectives in five areas, including corporate education; distance learning; credit courses and programs; marketing and outreach; and student services.

Dean Messelaar's three-year plan has four bold targets: to form corporate partnerships with 20 local companies; to create 20 industry-driven professional certificate programs; to offer 20% of CCDE courses in some kind of distance medium or off campus; and finally to offer a state-of-the-art information technology (IT) degree that will allow UMass Boston to be seen nationally as a leader in developing rigorous academically-based courses responsive to the regional market. Dean Messelaar states, "I have the clear goal of making UMass Boston one of the largest, if not the largest purveyor of continuing education and training in New England."

Can he do it? If past experience predicts future success, there is very good chance. As director of continuing education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, he helped develop over 30 market-driven certificate programs; expanded distance education capabilities and corporate partnerships; founded and co-chaired UMass Lowell's Community College Network (which resulted in 45 new off-campus course offerings); presided over the Massachusetts Council for Quality, linking the university with 150 member companies; and helped secure $1.2 million in workforce training grants.

Dean Messelaar says, "There is a lot of opportunity to bring the Lowell experience to Boston." He assures, however, that this will not detract from the Boston Division's existing strengths.

The Division here has developed probably one of the largest and best continuing education units serving traditional college students, with one of the largest summer schools in New England. He notes that the combination of low cost, high quality, and convenient location makes UMass Boston a summer magnet for credit-seeking students.

Dean Messelaar is aiming to attract those seeking job-related credentials as well. "The bachelor's degree is no longer the coinage of the working professional," he explains. "It provides a good generalist foundation for more specialized education." The university, according to Dean Messelaar, must see that professionals are interested in lifelong learning.

That interest, he explains, is largely spurred by workforce demands. "The curious evolution here is that rather than using standard degrees, people are now relying much more on focused experiences that allow them to get industry-based outcomes."

Already the only UMass campus offering vendor-certified programs, UMass Boston is poised for further growth. With the assistance of Professor Richard Eckhouse, the Division is working with the Department of Computer Science and the College of Management to coordinate IT education. Their goal is to develop not only certificates, but also a bachelor's degree in IT.

Dean Messelaar also plans to expand distance learning. He will recommend that UMass Boston contract with E-College, a nationally-based provider, to offer IT courses to industry. He explains, "These aren't canned courses that happen to be taught by UMass Boston faculty, but UMass Boston courses taught by UMass Boston faculty."

Reflecting on the new changes, Provost Charles Cnudde states, "Dean Messelaar brings with him extensive experience in continuing and distance education and he has great enthusiasm for our campus. I'm confident that his work will benefit our students as well as our region's economic development."

Dirk Messelaar Appointed Dean of Newly-Reconfigured Division

by Anne-Marie Kent