SCS Update
Dear SCS Faculty Members,
As we begin the New Year I am excited to announce a number
of new academic initiatives at the School of Continuing Studies.
This month SCS launched its new Master
of Science in Medical Informatics (MMI), offered in partnership with Northwestern's
Feinberg School of Medicine. We have an excellent inaugural
class made up of clinicians, physicians, and IT professionals.
This new degree will prepare students to become leaders in
improving patient outcomes and health care efficiency through
information technology.
MMI is the second graduate program to start this academic
year; our Master of Arts in Sports
Administration (MSA) began
last fall and is growing strongly. I applaud the enthusiasm
and initiative of the MSA students. They have already formed
a student organization and have held two career and networking “meet
and greets” in as many quarters.
I'm also excited to announce that SCS has been approved
to begin developing new online distance education opportunities
for its students. Work is underway to provide a variety of
distance learning programs in our graduate, undergraduate
and certificate programs, some of which will begin as early
as next fall.
Another major development for the Winter Quarter is the
availability of a new deferred tuition program for students
whose employer reimburses them for tuition. It is my sincere
hope that our deferred tuition program will make our academic
programs more accessible to our adult learners. Additional
information can be found at
http://www.northwestern.edu/sfs/documents/Publications%20and%20Forms/erp.pdf
Several student events, activities, and workshops are planned
for the coming weeks. Some of these include a town hall meeting
sponsored by the Student Advisory Board; a bowling night
whose proceeds will benefit the Pediatric AIDS Foundation;
and the Women of Vision in Information Technology Panel Discussion.
Students will also have the opportunity to assist the school
in continuing to develop career service initiatives by participating
in a survey and focus groups related to this topic.
I am also pleased to announce that at the beginning this
June SCS will undertake the renovation of the fourth and
fifth floors of Wieboldt Hall at our Chicago Lakeshore
Campus. This approximately $12 million project will include
the renovation of all classrooms on the two floors, the
addition of community space for students to meet before
and after class and smaller meeting rooms for study groups
and faculty conferences. The project will also include
the placement of a large reception area, electronic bulletin
board and student kiosk area in Wieboldt's north
lobby. The two elevators on the north side of the building
will also be reconditioned and a third elevator will be
added. It is estimated that the construction will take
between 12 and 14 months.
During that time classes will move to classrooms on the
7th and 8th floors of Wieboldt, and possibly to some classrooms
in nearby medical and law schools buildings on the Chicago
Lakeshore Campus.
We hope you are as excited about these changes as we are.
They represent our commitment to continuously provide a high-quality
education to our students. We look forward to seeing you
on campus!
Sincerely,
Thomas F. Gibbons
Dean, School of Continuing Studies
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