An Interview With Anthony J. Cernera, President of Sacred Heart University
March 25, 2010
Dr. Anthony J. Cernera has been the president of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, since 1988. Beginning in 1997, the university started to add online degree programs and courses—more than a dozen in all, including a doctorate in physical therapy and one in nursing practice, set to launch this fall. Enrollment has more than doubled. eLearn Magazine interviewed Cernera, who is also president of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, about how and why SHU has committed to online students.
Lisa Gualtieri: Why did Sacred Heart University decide to start online programs?
Anthony Cernera: Sacred Heart University was founded (in 1963) as a commuter school to provide an affordable and accessible program for local students. Some 20 years ago, we expanded that opportunity by establishing the residential option, and today the great majority of our undergraduates live on campus.
This new venue greatly increases the number of opportunities available to students who wish to benefit from a quality Sacred Heart University education. The offering of complete programs online is the natural next step in accommodating adult learners who are interested in higher education options geared toward their academic and career interests, and their personal situations as well.
LG: Can you describe the planning that went into making the decision and deciding which programs to put online?
AC: Expanding our online degree offerings enables us to extend the reach of Sacred Heart University's mission well beyond our campus. After carefully evaluating different options for bringing our degree programs online, we decided to partner with DeltakEdu, a leading higher education services company that helps universities like SHU extend their on-the-ground degree programs to an online environment.
We have been offering a number of classes online for years now, and based on market research and interest, we determined that the best degree programs for us to begin expansion into this online environment are some of our nursing degrees and our MBA degree.
LG: Can you expand upon how you came to the decision to partner with DeltakEdu? What were the different options you considered? Was one doing it yourself in-house? Wasn't it risky to turn over so much responsibility to a vendor when your reputation was at stake?
AC: Although the university has been offering online courses since 1997, when it came time to begin online delivery of full degree programs, we knew it would be wise to partner with a leader in the field.
After conducting careful due diligence, Deltak was the best fit for us. Serious attention to institutional mission and academic quality are important characteristics of the partnerships and were elements that were non-negotiable for Sacred Heart University. Deltak is a leader in providing online educational services and has the background and experience to support our commitment to students' success and to market in this segment successfully. It has an impressive list of partner universities with missions similar to ours.
LG: Do you anticipate these programs will attract the same types of students you have traditionally attracted, or will the student body expand both demographically and geographically?
AC: We anticipate our online programs will attract adult students that have professional work experience, thus a different population from our traditional undergraduate day student population. Given that you can live anywhere in the United States, or in the world, we expect to expand our diversity and geographic footprint.
LG: Nursing involves hands-on and supervised training. How will your online master of science degree program in nursing do that?
AC: To gain admission to our online master of science in nursing program, students must already be a registered nurse and hold a bachelor's degree. The hands-on and clinical training takes place at the undergraduate level.
Our online MSN program will attract experienced RNs who are looking to advance their knowledge in any of the following specializations: nursing education, clinical nurse leader, and patient care services administration. Thus, the program can be delivered completely online since it covers topics such as quality of care, leadership and educational theory.
LG: Sacred Heart's John F. Welch College of Business is named for GE's former chair and CEO Jack Welch. Was he involved in planning the new online MBA program?
AC: Jack Welch is a most generous supporter of the college and its students and has been an advisor of its faculty. Jack's overall management approach offered guiding principles in the crafting of the university's business programs. Our online MBA offering is an extension of the program already being offered on our physical campuses in Fairfield, Connecticut, and Luxembourg in Europe.
LG: What technologies are you using for the online programs, and how did you decide which to select? Will social media be a component?
AC: SHU will deploy our online programs through BlackBoard. Our faculty are trained and experienced at using the system, as we have offered online courses for many years. Faculty will continue to explore the use of all available technologies to include social media, synchronous communication through tools such as Skype, and utilizing the latest advances in 2.0 technology available to educators.
