Cornerstone College President Gerson Moreno-Riaño explains the college’s SOAR program, which provides bachelor’s and grasp’s levels in enterprise by means of a cell app.
Individuals trying to earn levels at their very own velocity can now accomplish that through their cell phones after Cornerstone College tailor-made diploma choices in its enterprise program to cater to college students preferring a self-paced program that may be accomplished on a smartphone.
“We developed the nation’s first cell platform to ship an accredited undergraduate diploma and a grasp’s diploma as nicely, all through your cell phone,” Cornerstone College President Gerson Moreno-Riaño advised FOX Enterprise in an interview.
Moreno-Riaño stated that this system launched in August and has about 250 college students enrolled. College students in what’s often called the SOAR program can get hold of an affiliate’s or bachelor’s diploma in strategic enterprise administration, or a grasp’s diploma in organizational management.
“One of many stunning issues we have seen is that the persistence fee from month-to-month is 91%, so college students are sticking with this and finishing it,” he stated, including that some college students who transferred in with prior credit to finish a level would be the program’s first graduates this yr.
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The SOAR program permits college students to interact with studying supplies in small parts on their smartphones. (iStock)
Moreno-Riaño stated that Cornerstone’s worth level for its SOAR bachelor’s diploma is $24,000 from begin to end, whereas the grasp’s diploma is $12,000.
“Greater than half of our present college students enrolled in this system now are paying no tuition as a result of scholarships and grants.”
“We see this as a possibility to handle a spot in our nation now in the case of schooling, and admittedly, we’re satisfied that the present American greater ed infrastructure can’t handle this problem. It was constructed for what I name conventional brick and mortar college students,” he stated.
“We thought, how can we take this ubiquitous piece of expertise that everyone has, that everybody spends plenty of time on? On common, in our nation, we’re speaking about nicely over 4 hours a day that adults are on their cell units.”
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Cornerstone College’s SOAR diploma program permits college students to earn levels on their cell phones exterior a conventional classroom. (iStock)
Moreno-Riaño stated Cornerstone examined the app for over a yr with about 120 college students, which knowledgeable the college’s technique of revising and launching the SOAR app.
He stated that Cornerstone is deeply involved with the way it reaches out to non-traditional college students and disenchanted college students, a few of whom have not tried to pursue a level whereas others tried a conventional faculty expertise and are not keen to return.
Moreno-Riaño stated that when Cornerstone was mapping out this system, it understood that the standard curriculum of 120 credit score hours in a level program could not be mapped over to a cell app, so the college sought to unpackage these programs into “bite-sized chunks of instructional content material.”
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Cornerstone College’s SOAR program provides accredited bachelor’s and grasp’s levels in enterprise, Moreno-Riaño stated. (iStock)
“Within the app, there can be mini-lectures, podcasts, e-book evaluations, interviews, all with very carefully, rigorously designed studying targets all through this system,” Moreno-Riaño stated, explaining that among the lectures could also be within the vary of 5 to 10 minutes.
“We now have micro assessments built-in which might be instantly graded and suggestions is given to the coed.”
Among the program’s first graduates advised Moreno-Riaño that they take heed to among the classes whereas commuting to work, whereas touring or doing family chores.
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“It permits them to, in essence, proceed the educational expertise amidst a fancy schedule as a result of we unbundle it, unpackage it, redevelop it and preserve the engagement standards in order that college students keep finding out and targeted,” he stated.


