Planet eCampus

Dr. Nat Hardy is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at Savannah State University. He was recently elected President of the Georgia Council of Graduate Schools , which works to build awareness of the benefits and value of a graduate degree to the students and citizens of Georgia. eCore is proud to have had Dr. Hardy as an eCore instructor since 2012. Take a minute to learn a little more about Dr. Nat Hardy. Where did you complete your degree(s)? B.A. (English) University of Alberta, M.A. (English) McMaster University, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) Louisiana State University, M.Ed. (Higher Education Administration) Georgia Southern University, Ph.D. (English) University of Alberta. What drew you to your field of expertise? I was always an avid reader of literature and I truly enjoyed writing. During my undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta, I switched my major from Philosophy to English because I was a much better English major than a Philosoph...

Nalucha Shakalima Age: 22 Albany State University Why is completing your college degree important to you? Completing my degree will open up opportunities for me and help me to achieve my dreams in life. Why did you choose to take online classes through eCore? I chose to take an eCore online class because it allowed me to have more flexibility with my already demanding nursing school schedule. How would you describe the instructors you’ve had in your eCore classes? My instructor has been very organized, structured, helpful and professional. Besides being a college student, what do you spend your time doing? Working out, reading, volunteering, relaxing and meeting new people. How and when do you make time to spend on your school work? I set aside certain hours of my day to complete assignments for both my online and non-online classes. It ranges during the day to the night time. What has been the best thing about your eCore experience? The flexibility, my ins...

Cathryn with three of her eight grandchildren.  Cathryn Vandiver Age: 56 Institution: Dalton State College Why is completing your college degree important to you? Completing my college degree will be a dream come true! I started this journey over 37 years ago and did not finish. Since then, I have raised a family as a single parent for 14 years with three young children. I worked two jobs for many years, and I was a legal secretary for attorneys for over twenty years. I currently keep three of my grandchildren while my two daughters teach school. I want my college degree because I need it to pursue my ultimate goal, and to be an inspiration to others that it is never too late to learn and contribute to society! Thank you for the opportunity eCore gives students like me who could not otherwise attend classes in person to get their college degree. Why did you choose to take online classes through eCore? It was offered by the college I wanted to attend, Dalton S...

If you are currently, or soon-to-be in the market for a new job, then you have probably heard the saying – it’s all about networking. Employers today receive stacks and stacks of resumes for open positions, making it harder and harder to stand out as an applicant.  Sure, you may have impressive work experience and a killer cover letter, but odds are that there is at least one applicant in that stack who already has name recognition within the company – and that person is much more likely to get an interview. When searching for a job – it’s all about who you know. If you don’t know the right people, and the right people don’t know you – then you need to change that. The way to do that is through networking. Ten years ago, networking had a completely different meaning than it does today. Sure, joining and being active in professional groups is great, but today we have a much more powerful professional networking tool right at our fingertips  –  LinkedIn. To a beginner,...

If you are or ever have been a college student, you know that textbooks are expensive. Affordable Learning Georgia estimates that at the current rate, students in the University System of Georgia would spend a total of $1,400,000,000 on textbooks. With student loan debt already a major issue in our country, it goes without saying that this type of expenditure needs attention. So – what is the higher education industry, particularly in Georgia, doing to address this issue?   The answer is Open Educational Resources, or OERs, which are freely accessible, openly licensed documents and media that are useful for teaching and learning. Many colleges and universities are making efforts to transition to the use of OERs in their classes as opposed to traditional textbooks, which provides a zero-cost textbook option to students. Our state is paving the way for this movement, with programs like Affordable Learning Georgia, which has set a goal of providing faculty in the USG with ...

Have you wondered what it might be like to be an Emergency Nurse? How about a Computer Programmer?  If you are gleaning all of your knowledge of what a Crime Scene Investigator actually does from watching reruns of CSI, you may encounter a rude awakening when you go for your education and actually land yourself in that job. Informational interviewing is a  foundational  step within career exploration. While you are in your own investigative place as a student you would be wise to conduct informational interviews of people within the potential careers/jobs that you think you might enjoy.   The informational interview communicates the first-hand experiences and impressions of someone in the occupation, and is directed by your questions.  Steps to conducting an interview of this type consist of: 1. Identifying a person who is currently employed within the field. 2. Calling to request a visit with them while they are on the job.   The amoun...

What is your home institution and major? Currently, I attend Valdosta State University, and I am pursuing a degree in Organizational Leadership. How many eMajor courses have you taken? To date, I've taken 7 courses with eMajor. Why is completing your college degree important to you?  I think a college degree is a necessity in today's society. The job market is extremely competitive, and so many of my peers are seeking top notch positions. When I look back on my life, I want to know I finished everything I started; I want to check the box on paperwork that asks if I graduated. If I do not finish, that box will haunt me with any application I submit: Mortgage, jobs, insurance, etc. When is your expected graduation date? My expected graduation date is June of 2015,  however, I am completing a concentration in Public Administration. This will be complete in December of 2015. Go big or go home. What are your career goals? Currently, I work ...