Nov 19, 2014 02:05 PM EST By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Montana State University's online program that helps students complete their bachelor's degree online saw its first five graduates this past year, and two more students are expected to graduate this December.  

The liberal studies bachelor's degree completion program was developed for students who have completed at least two years of college and would like to earn a bachelor's degree online.  Since its inception, more than 90 students have enrolled in the fully online program, school officials announced.

The program was born in 2012 as part of an MSU initiative to reach out to new students and serve Montana's educational needs. MSU asked the campus community for ideas for distance learning programs that would reach new audiences in Montana and beyond.

The program has also provided a new opportunity for students based in rural areas to complete their degree without relocating to Bozeman.

"I am a single mother and I work and wanted to go to school full time," Shanna Stanley of Conrad, who finished her bachelor's degree through the program in August said in a statement. "I couldn't go to Bozeman for school, so the online program seemed to fit best for my hectic life,"

Stanley is the mother of a 4-year-old daughter and works full time as a certified nursing assistant.

Tami Eitle, associate dean of the university's College of Letters and Science who also serves as director of the liberal studies program, said flexibility is key to the program's design.

"All of our students started college at some earlier point in their lives but then life, work, or family forced them to leave without a degree," Eitle said. "Our online program is allowing these students to return to college and they will earn a degree from MSU whether they are in rural Montana, Arizona or Mexico. Completing a college degree may bring better job opportunities, higher earnings and more self-confidence, but for many of our students it is also a dream fulfilled."

MSU's degree completion program is interdisciplinary. Students complete credits in four main subject areas: arts, humanities, natural science and social science. Online classes cover a range of subjects, including earth sciences, Spanish, sociology, history, photography, nutrition and political science.

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