I am pleased to announce that enrollment in Liberty University’s Distance Learning Program topped the 25,000 student mark for the first time on Tuesday. Enrollment figures for the program were confirmed by LU Registrar Lawrence Shackleton in an e-mail to school officials. Officially, the 25,000th student enrolled at about 9:15 a.m yesterday.
School officials announced the enrollment to the student body during the school’s Wednesday convocation. Distance Learning staff members, all of whom played a significant role in this remarkable achievement, were told of the achievement on Tuesday.
Reaching this milestone is personally satisfying since I began my career in Distance Ed some 20 years ago as an Advising Assistant in what was known then as Liberty University School of Lifelong Learning. I joined the ranks just as the program, video based at the time, was just getting off the ground. We only had 300 students at that time. My first tour of duty at Liberty took me through the advising, enrollment management and call center operation areas. It was a learning experience that I called “baptism by fire.” Returning just two years ago for my second tour of duty at Liberty following a ten year stint as Executive Vice President and a Partner at a call center/fulfillment company, I have to say that the “more things change the more they stay the same.” Although the industry as a whole has matured and evolved, it still comes down to providing a quality education, superior experience, and a instilling a hope in non-traditional learners that they can earn accredited, recognized degrees at a distance.