5 September 2005

Longwood University to offer free online courses to students affected by Katrina

Longwood University will offer a variety of free online courses to students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. According to Dr. Sue McCullough, Dean of Graduate Studies, "We think it's important that these students have a way to continue learning during this tragic time. Many colleges in the Gulf Coast region have closed and will not re-open for some time. This will give students an online option to continue their education."

Longwood will offer the current online undergraduate course offerings which includes World Literature, Introduction to Programming, Introduction to Audiology, Language Development, Phonetics, Anatomy and Physiology of Speech Mechanisms, and Speech Science. If there is sufficient demand, the university will add Introduction to Sociology, U.S. History I, and Introduction to Audiology and Hearing Science to the online offerings. To learn more, students should call Dean McCullough at 434.395.2012 or go online to: http://www.longwood.edu/online/

Last week, Longwood offered to provide free tuition, fees and meals to college students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. According to Wayne McWee, vice president for academic affairs, "We'll be glad to help in any way we can and we can handle at least 25 students. We'll provide them with free tuition and fees and give them free meals for the semester. We are also planning to offer online courses for any of those affected students. If students decide to come here, we will work with them in finding local accommodations near campus."

Longwood University will work out the financial arrangements for any students who are interested in attending the university. Bob Chonko, Dean of Enrollment Management, and his admissions staff are ready to help. Interested students should contact the admissions office at 1.800.281.4677.