The U. of Phoenix is creating social spaces for its online students. (U. of Phoenix images)
Loneliness may be fine for distance runners, but for distance-education students, it can be a barrier to success, particularly for students confused by their course work or the mechanics of navigating online classes.
That’s why the University of Phoenix has begun to develop new drop-in centers for its distance-education students. The specially-designed centers house tutoring services and double as social spaces. About 200,000 of the university’s 330,000 students take courses online.
The first of the centers, conceived as “a cross between a library and a Starbucks,” opened about a year ago in Plano, Tex., says William J. Pepicello, the university’s president. University leaders determined that Plano would be a good site after analyzing ZIP codes of distance-education students and finding that the location was central to many of them.
The centers, which average about 7,000 square feet, are being established in shopping malls and other convenient locations. Each features computers, common space for students to meet with tutors or classmates who might also live nearby, and areas set aside for individuals to work on their own.
What the centers don’t have are classrooms, although the university expects some of its “on ground” students who live close by might drop by now and then as well.
And while there are no baristas stationed inside, Mr. Pepicello says each center is set up with self-serve machines that provide free gourmet coffee. —Goldie Blumenstyk