When U.S. News & World Report released the 2015-16 Best Online Programs, the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) was ranked in the top ten Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs.
CECS offers a fully online Engineering Management graduate program and a variety of graduate online courses in Engineering and Computer Science. The distinguishing characteristics of the UTC Online Graduate Engineering Program include its reliability, great advisement, experienced faculty, good IT support, and the variety of course selection. View the U.S. News & World Report ranking.
“We began offering graduate Engineering Management online courses in 2000 when there were not many online courses or programs at UTC,” explained Dr. Neslihan Alp, Interim Dean and UC Foundation Professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Technology has changed a lot since then and we have increased and improved our offerings. We started with one online course per semester and put the whole program online in less than 5 years. After putting the whole Engineering Management master’s program online, the enrollment increased from 15-20 students to 90-100 students, and graduation increased from 2-3 students a year to 25-30 students a year.”
The online offering helped the college keep students in the program even though they move out of Chattanooga, and it also helped international students to stay in their home country and complete the whole graduate program online without quitting their jobs and moving their families to the United States, Alp said.
“There is great flexibility for domestic and international students. More than 80 percent of our graduate students are working professionals and travel a lot because of their job. Having the online availability makes everything easy for them without changing their life styles. I’m so proud of our faculty’s cooperation and willingness to put their courses online, which requires a lot of time and work. I’m also very thankful to the College’s Technical Support group who helped and supported us throughout the process. Finally, I’m very happy with the growth and deserved recognition of the Online MS Engineering Management program,” Alp said.
Graduate programs like Computer Science and Engineering master’s programs are also putting their courses online. Alp is hopeful those programs will be offered fully online.
“The recent recognition that we have received from U.S. News & World Report as being #7 in the nation as the Best Online Graduate Engineering Program is a great honor for the college students, faculty, and staff, which is a result of 15 years of tremendous work and commitment,” Alp added.
