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VPAA Update 12.13.23

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Progress on Online Programs

Dear Colleagues,

I’m excited to say that we’ve made great progress on expanding our online programs this past fall. This work is critical to the future of the Institute, allowing us to reach new students and expand accessibility.

Patricia Szasz is now leading this effort in her new role of Dean of Middlebury Institute Online, a new unit within the Institute to house and organize all of our online programs.

  • The Online MPA in Sustainability kicks off on January 8. Seven courses have been developed and three more are in progress. Faculty contributors Maha Baimyraeza and Lyuba Zarsky have done incredible work to recruit top instructors from the sustainability sector, including many MIIS alumni.
  • The next launch will be a 30-credit Online MA in Localization Project Management. This re-envisioned program will replace our current online advanced entry Translation and Localization Management degree, for which we’ve stopped admitting students.
  • This will be followed by an Online MS in Cybersecurity for spring 2025. We are in the final stages of hiring a program director to lead the program design process in collaboration with DLINQ.
  • We have a 10-year master services agreement in place with an online program management company through which we’ll launch up to 10 new online programs. The initial phase will include degrees in analytics, organizational leadership and educational leadership, which we will start developing next year.
  • We’ve put essential infrastructure in place, including policies, an academic calendar and course catalog specific to online programs, as well as setting new competitive tuition rates of $850/credit for online programs. An online program budget is also in development.
  • We’re hiring for a program manager to provide program coordination and administration – please spread the word. 

Thank you to the many faculty and staff both in Monterey and Vermont who have been working hard to make this happen. It’s truly been a team effort to bring us to this point. I’m excited to see the vision for the future of the Institute moving into implementation.

JDJ