As an example of the CSUN commitment to excellence in online education, surveyors from the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) complimented the university on the quality of its Communication Disorders and Sciences (CDS) online master’s degree program during a recent (October 2012) campus visit. The online CDS master’s degree program, which has received the 2013 Outstanding Program Award from the University Professional & Continuing Education Association, has achieved an average on-time graduation rate of 73 percent over the 13 years that it has been offered.

In addition, CSUN pass rate results on the Praxis Examination average 91 percent compared to the national average of 85.7 percent over the same three-year period between 2008 and 2011. This national examination is used by CDS online students to qualify for professional certification by ASHA as well as to qualify for licensure to practice in each state.

CSUN online programs continue to produce high graduation rates, national test scores and national recognition, which invigorates our commitment to push forward and seek ways to collaborate within campus lines to expand online programs. This success is partially attributed to CSUN’s integration of excellence in classroom instruction, proactive student services, and personalized, rigorous online learning communities.

The Growth of CSUN Online Programs

CSUN online programs grew slowly over the early years of the past decade as CSUN developed and refined its approach to creating and supporting online students and programs. With that foundation in place, the pace of growth has steadily increased in more recent years, leading to CSUN’s having six fully online degree programs today with

an additional eight fully online degree programs in development for launch in the next 18 to 24 months. Many of the current and planned degrees offer multiple majors/options. This will take CSUN into 2015/2016 with 14 fully online programs offering 24 majors/options and more in development. Currently, 357 students are matriculated. This is a 40 percent increase within the last two years. Each student is taking an average of six courses per year in a year-round cohort format that speeds time to degree. CSUN expects the pace of enrollment growth in online programs, which currently exceeds 2,500 annually, to continue to increase at a rapid pace over the next few years as the market expands and the number of programs offered multiplies. In addition, CSUN was the first to join Cal State Online with the CSU Reconnect Liberal Studies degree completion program, which takes a different approach that requires working with an outside vendor. CSUN will expand national marketing of its online programs now that it has a robust portfolio of offerings that warrant the marketing investment.