Eastern Washington University, in partnership with Academic Partnerships LLC, is expanding its online master’s and certificate degrees to 36 programs within education, business, accounting, and public health.

“A lot of professionals who were looking for advancement in their career and achieving a higher-level credentials are finding that this online platform fits nicely into their schedule,” says Brian Donahue, vice provost of academic affairs at EWU. 

For prospective students in education, EWU will offer online master’s and certificate degrees in special education, career and technical education, health and physical education, library media, history, music education, English language learners, teaching English to speakers of other languages, and program administration, according to the university’s website.

For professionals preparing to take the CPA exam in the state of Washington, EWU will offer an online certificate in accounting. For health care workers, EWU will offer an online master’s degree in public health, in addition to a certificate of public health.

EWU will also offer a Master of Science in organizational leadership for professionals seeking to move into leadership roles.

Degrees can be completed in 12 to 18 months, and course prices are reduced compared with in-person programs, Donahue says.

For example, the online master’s in education programs are priced at $275 per credit, and the Master of business administration and other business-related programs cost $350 per credit.

That’s compared with the school’s general resident graduate tuition rate of $412 a credit, says Donahue.

Donahue says EWU has been expanding its online graduate portfolio to reach people wherever they may be in their lives and geographically.

In a survey conducted by Academic Partnerships, 97% of respondents said they were working adults.

There is no difference in quality of education from the online degree and the in-person degree, Donahue asserts.

“They are developed by our own faculty, who are the same people who in most cases would teach them on the ground,” he says. “The curriculum is under Eastern’s control.”

Academic Partnerships manages the platform in which these courses are offered, says Donahue.

AP spokesperson Angie Boliver says that in addition to providing the platform and online expertise, the company also assists with prospective student outreach and retention.

AP has over 50 partnerships and over 650 programs, says Boliver. The vast majority of its partners are regional, public universities like EWU, she adds.

David May, the interim president at EWU, says that the “Partnership with AP was crucial in our ability to make this transition quickly and effectively.” AP doesn’t provide online support for undergraduate courses.

Eastern first launched its online master’s degree programs in the fall of 2018 with six programs in education. The following year, the university included MBA degrees.

Boliver says EWU currently has 1,400 students participating in all online programs.

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