The University of Minnesota Board of Regents recently approved the University of Minnesota, Crookston's request to deliver a second entirely online bachelor degree program.

The new program, a Bachelor of Manufacturing Management, is designed to prepare students for management careers, providing course work in managing people and machines within a manufacturing environment. Though approved last week by the board of regents, the program still is awaiting accreditation.

UMC, the only school in the University of Minnesota system to offer complete online degrees, also offers a Bachelor of Applied Health degree in that same manner. The online programs provide working students a convenient and flexible alternative schedule to that of traditional colleges, allowing those with relevant work experience in the healthcare field the opportunity to complete a 4-year degree. In addition, once the program is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, UMC expects the BMM degree to serve audiences overseas.

UMC, now offering nearly 40 online degree courses, reports that online enrollment has grown over 151% in the past four years. In a strong indication that the online programming truly meets the need of the non-traditional student, the school indicates that students range from 16 to 65 with a significant number of those taking courses being in the 35 to 45 year old age bracket.