Nuclear Engineering - Graduate Level Distance Education

What is it?
Distance education involves the linking of teacher(s) and student(s), through technology rather than face-to-face interaction. Distance education serves the educational needs of people who cannot come to a Penn State campus due to job, family, time, distance, economic, or other constraints.

Penn State’s first distance education courses, developed over one hundred years ago, used the U.S. mail to link students and teachers. Today, we employ various technologies, including: the Internet, CDs, DVDs, interactive video conferencing, live or on-demand streaming media, videotapes, fax, and e-mail to deliver and facilitate the interaction between learners and teachers. The tremendous technological advances in recent years in computing power, storage technology, and communication links have set the stage for marvelous advances in the quantity and quality of distance education. Penn State faculty and staff are working to bring you new and exciting learning opportunities through distance education.

How are these courses delivered and designed?

Students in the online Nuclear Engineering Program are expected to possess or have access to personal computers and a broadband Internet connection. (Note: Some corporate networks may block access to streaming video and prohibit downloading and installing course specific software. Make sure that you have these capabilities on the computer used for the courses offered in this program.)

Minimum system and software specifications are:

Operating System	Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 (Note: Vista 64 bit OS does not support the Cisco VPN Client which is required for completing online lab assignments) (Mac OS computers are not supported in all courses)
Processor	1 GHz or higher
Memory	256 MB of RAM
Hard Drive Space	500 MB free disk space
Browser for Windows OS	Firefox (current version) Internet Explorer (version 7 or 8) Cookies, Java, and JavaScript must be enabled. Pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State web sites.
Plug-ins	Adobe Acrobat Reader Flash Media Player Windows Media Player ver. 11
Additional Software and Course Specific Software	General software Microsoft Office Adobe Acrobat PDF Writer Course Specific software Cisco VPN Client ver. 5 MatLab Mathematica VisSim Pagoda For specific software requirements please see the individual Course Descriptions.
Internet Connection	Broadband (cable or DSL) connection required (Note: Your internet connection must allow you to download and upload large files up to 500MB; some satellite internet services may prohibit the ability to upload large files)
Printer/Scanner	Access to graphics-capable printer Some courses require students to scan and upload assignments and projects
DVD-ROM	Required
Sound Card, Microphone, and Speakers	Required
Monitor	Monitor (Capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution)

In addition to personal computers, some courses require the student purchase of additional software required to complete the course (i.e., MATLAB, VISSIM, etc.). This information is listed on the syllabus for each course.

(Note: Several courses require students to access a computer located on the University Park Campus. This requires students to install and use the Cisco VPN Client. The Cisco VPN Client is not available for Windows Vista 64 bit OS.)

Penn State Access accounts will be created for the online students so that they can remote into these computers for course work.

All courses are offered within the semester time line. For specific start and end dates see the individual course site.

To accommodate the distance student, live classes are offered through interactive videoconferencing, live streaming media, and on-demand streaming media. Most distance courses are offered live simultaneously with a resident class in attendance at the University Park campus. For these courses, both live and on-demand streaming media is available. Typically four or more courses are offered per semester.

Several courses have been developed that are only offered using on-demand streaming media. Check the course sites for these details.

These courses may require textbooks, homework, exams, interaction, and projects as would be required in any graduate level course.

Penn State uses a course management/communication system referred to as ANGEL. ANGEL is a web based system that organizes and delivers all course materials including: live and on-demand video lectures, class notes, reference materials, homework assignments, quizzes and projects. The course material in ANGEL is available for you to access 24/7.

ANGEL
Click on image for larger view.

You will need internet access to take a distance course. But, we can work with you if you find yourself temporarily disconnected from the internet. Alternative ways of delivering course material to you can be worked out.

Faculty interaction may occur through ANGEL, email, phone calls, videoconferencing or face to face if you are in the area.

Student performance is evaluated through graded homework, class projects (if applicable), quizzes and/or exams. Some courses require proctored exams, in which case, it is your responsibility to work with us to obtain a proctor.