Husson to expand online educational offerings
Courtesy / Husson University
Shown here is Husson University's main campus in Bangor. Students will not have to travel, however, to attend online classes for the Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-to-BSN) program.
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Online education is about to get greater attention from Husson University as the Bangor-based school seeks to strengthen its educational offerings for students in southern Maine and out of state.
Under a strategic initiative announced over the weekend, Husson plans to transition its southern Maine operations to its online division, where all current southern Maine students will be able to complete their degree programs.
This transition will include the sale of Husson’s Southern Maine property, located at 340 County Road in Westbrook, Students enrolled in courses at that facility will be able to continue their studies online in the current spring semester, so that no classes currently underway are disrupted.
The facility in Westbrook is 34,587 square feet in size, which includes 15 classrooms. Husson uses about half of the space in the building, while the rest is leased to tenants, Husson spokesman Eric Gordon told Mainebiz.
The property has been listed by The Boulos Co. at $5.8 million.
Husson’s growing online focus refelects national trends.
“The market and technology have changed dramatically since Husson University first began serving the greater Portland area. Nationally, students have become very comfortable taking classes online,” said Husson President Robert A. Clark.
“Online education has given us the ability to reach students in locations who would otherwise not be able to attend traditional classroom offerings," he said.
Husson has students from 22 states, including Maine. It offers 20 programs online, with nearly 400 students taking online courses.
The movement toward online education will be supported in the coming years by the new College of Business building at the school's Bangor campus,
Husson said in January that it had raised a greater-than-expected $38 million in cash and pledges to fund the project, on which it expects to break ground this spring.
On Saturday, Husson said the infrastructure upgrade in the new facility will allow it to expand its delivery of programs to a broader audience in a manner that supports its educational mission.
Husson’s experience in online education parallels national trends, according to Lynne Coy-Ogan, Husson's senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.
“Husson has experienced significant growth in the number of Southern Maine students taking their classes online or in a hybrid format that combines online and classroom instruction," she said.
She said that includes continued growth of Husson's MBA cohort program, which entails working with companies including L.L.Bean and Bangor Savings Bank to design an MBA experience specific to employees' needs.
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