Each and every student at American National University is unique, with their own learning style, family commitments, and work schedule, yet they all share one common goal—getting in and out of their program as quickly and efficiently as possible, while gaining the relevant skills that they need to succeed in their chosen careers.
As ANU strives to meet its students’ needs and create programs that put a college degree within reach for every working adult, a number of interactive learning formats have been developed with classes available day and night held on-site at one of our more than two dozen campus locations, through videoconferencing, online delivery through Blackboard Learn, or a blend of all three.
While ANU is well-known for the one-on-one instruction that it offers on-campus, many students find that they thrive in the independent, flexible environment of eLearning, as well.
Ellen Cabiness graduated from the medical assisting program at the ANU Martinsville Campus in 2004 and worked as a medical secretary in the emergency room of a local hospital. After moving into a job working in child support administration, she recently returned to ANU to continue her education in the health care management bachelor’s degree program offered through the ANU eUniversity.
“With online classes, you can really work at your own pace.”
“I missed the medical field, so I decided I’d come back and finish up my degree and get back into healthcare management,” Ellen explained. “Working eight hours a day, I felt like I could kind of set my own schedule,” she said of the eLearning classes.
“With online classes, you…can really work at your own pace. You can set your own schedule as to ‘Well, today I’m going to work on this for this class,’” Ellen added. “If I do my master’s in business administration, I’m going to do it online. It worked for me.”
On-site and eLearning classes can also be combined to help ANU students reach their graduation date without delay. Medical assisting graduate Kaleigh Courts got hands-on experience while developing her clinical skills in class at the ANU Florence Campus, and she also took several general education courses online to help expedite her graduation. “I love online classes too,” Kaleigh stated. “I did those when I was pregnant, so I didn’t miss any terms.”
As in her on-campus classes, Kaleigh found that the instructors in her online classes were available to help her whenever she had questions. “If you can’t t find an answer, the teachers were really easy to email and they explained it even further,” she said. “Now I want my bachelor’s degree. I want to go forward and do the online classes and get that.”
Video conferencing classes are also an option available to students at ANU, utilizing software which allows students from several campuses to participate in a class led by a University professor sharing their knowledge of the field.
“I enjoy the video conferencing experience,” said Chris Wilson, a student in the business administration-management bachelor’s degree program at the ANU Lexington Campus. “You get a wide variety of questions and information when you join students from other campuses. It definitely adds to the classroom experience.”
With on-site, eLearning, and video conferencing classes to choose from, ANU students have more options than ever available to them as they earn the degrees they need to make their goals for their future a reality.
Photo A-Ellen Cabiness found that the flexibility that she had as a student in the ANU eUniversity health care management program worked well with her full-time job.
Photo B-Medical assisting graduate Kaleigh Courts got hands-on experience in class at the ANU Florence Campus and she also took general education classes through ANU’s eLearning courses during her pregnancy.
