JONES COLLEGE

Distance Learning
Jacksonville, Florida

Founded in Jacksonville in 1918 by Annie Harper Jones, Jones College has been expanded and enriched to meet the needs of a student body pursuing relevant professional education. In 1947 the College was chartered by the State of Florida as a non-profit degree-granting institution. Under this charter, a Board of Trustees governs the College, and all income in excess of operating expenses is devoted to providing better equipment and educational facilities.

Jones College is a senior college accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) to award Associate in Science and Bachelor of Science degrees. ACICS is listed as a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education. Jones College is also recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. In addition, Jones College participates in Florida's statewide course numbering system, and all professors teaching in that system hold at least a master's degree.

The Arlington campus of Jones College is centrally located minutes away from downtown Jacksonville, suburban areas, and ocean beaches. The West campus is conveniently located on Edgewood Avenue South at Roosevelt Boulevard. In addition, Jones College maintains a Miami campus in Kendall.

Distance Learning Program

Jones College has an extensive distance learning program through which complete bachelor's and associate degrees may be earned in business administration or computer information systems. Details of all programs are contained in the Jones College catalog that is available at the College Web site.

Jones College distance learning classes, which are limited to a maximum of 20 students, are more self-paced than most on-campus classes. For each online class, students should set aside 11 hours per week for such aspects of learning as reading the text and online lessons, completing assignments, participating in chat sessions and threaded discussions, testing, and study and research.

Online classes are virtual classrooms that use Web sites and the Internet. Online classes require more work than on-campus classes, but students can work at the times that are most convenient to them.

The diploma earned in distance learning programs is identical to the diploma earned by students on campus. On a transcript, online classes are identical to on-campus classes.

Delivery Media

Jones College students can participate in online courses from almost anywhere on the globe. Online courses access course materials, announcements, and other information, plus a range of online activities that facilitate frequent student-teacher and student-student interaction. Faculty members and students interact via real-time electronic classrooms, online forums using threaded bulletin boards, real-time chat rooms, e-mail, and the Electronic Library. Students submit their assignments online in multimedia formats for review by faculty members. Students can find specific hardware the software requirements at http://www.jones.edu/dl/requirements.htm.

Programs of Study

The Associate in Science degree program with a business administration major is designed to provide a student with the basic business knowledge necessary to operate a small business; to assume an entry-level managerial, manager trainee, or marketing position; or to provide the student with the knowledge necessary to become promotable into an entry-level managerial position in an already established career field.

The Bachelor of Science degree program with a business administration major is designed to provide the student with the skills necessary to obtain an entry-level position in business administration or to provide a student with the knowledge necessary to become promotable into a managerial position in an already established career field. A core of essential business and general education courses supplements a broadly based sequence of business administration courses and an elective component that permits the student to effectuate an educational program which is consistent with the student's objective.

The Associate in Science degree program with a computer information systems major is designed to provide a student with the basic skills necessary to obtain entry-level employment as a junior programmer, programmer trainee, or other position in the computer information systems industry. The basic sequence of computer information systems courses is supplemented with general education and business offerings that help to ensure the student's productivity and mobility in the business environment.

The Bachelor of Science degree program with a computer information system major provides the combination of business administration course work coupled with computer information systems course work and is designed to provide the student with the skills necessary to obtain an entry level position as a computer programmer, systems analyst, or other position in computer information systems. A core of essential business and general education courses, and an elective component that permits the student to effectuate an educational program that is consistent with the student's objective supplements a comprehensive series of data processing courses.

The specific course requirements for the Associate in Science and Bachelor of Science degree programs can be found at the degree programs tab of the Jones College Web site.

Credit Options

A student must be actively enrolled in Jones College to be eligible to apply for credits through non-traditional means, and all such credits must be awarded prior to the beginning of the student's last semester in school. These non-traditional means include Credit by Examination (maximum of 15 hours), College Level Examination Program (CLEP) (25% of the credit hours for the degree program maximum), Advanced Placement, and non-collegiate training or experience, including military, industrial, or professional training or experience (21 credit hours maximum).

Faculty

Online classes are moderated by instructors who have the same qualifications as the on-campus instructors. In addition to having the approval of their department head and dean, all of the instructors have master's degrees, with at least 18 master's credits in the field that they teach. To become certified to teach distance learning courses, they also take and pass a distance learning course consisting of six online lessons, complete with assignments, tests, and a grade.

Admission

Graduation from high school with a standard diploma or its equivalent is a prerequisite for admission to Jones College. All applicants must have a preadmission interview conducted in person or by telephone.

Tuition and Fees

The tuition for all courses is $275 per semester hour, and there is a laboratory fee of $25 for each distance learning course taken.

Financial Aid

Financial assistance in the form of loans and grants is available to qualified students. Any qualified student may apply to attend Jones College regardless of personal financial circumstances. The college makes every possible effort to aid those students who need financial assistance. Students should apply for financial assistance at the same time they apply for admission to Jones College.

Applying

Students may apply on the Jones College Web site. They are notified of acceptance immediately after all application and financial aid requirements have been submitted. An online orientation is provided for all distance learning students.

CONTACT

For distance learning information,
students should contact:
Thomas Clift, Director of Distance Learning
Phone: 800-331-0176 Ext 134 (toll-free)
E-mail: tclift@jones.edu

Correspondence should be sent to:
Jones College
5353 Arlington Expressway
Jacksonville, Florida 32211
Phone: 904-743-1122 800-331-0176 (toll-free)
Fax: 904-743-4446
E-mail: info@jones.edu
Web site: http://www.jones.edu