Columbia Southern University
Coordinates: 30°19′45.26″N 87°39′9.4″W / 30.3292389°N 87.652611°W
 | |
| Motto | Flexible. Affordable. Online. |
|---|---|
| Type |
For-profit Online |
| Established | 1993 |
| President | Robert Mayes, Jr. |
| Provost | Jeffrey Barksdale, Ph.D. |
| Dean | John Hope, Ph.D. |
| Students | 20,185[1] |
| Undergraduates | 14,853 |
| Postgraduates | 5,332 |
| Location | Orange Beach, Alabama, United States |
| Colors |
Navy Blue and Gold |
| Nickname | Knights[2] |
| Website |
www |
Columbia Southern University is a for-profit college specializing in distance education, headquartered in Orange Beach, Alabama, United States.
History
Columbia Southern University was founded in 1993 by Robert G. Mayes, Sr.[3][4] The university developed its first degree programs in Environmental Engineering and Occupational Safety and Health in 1994. By 1996 additional degree programs were developed and offered: The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, followed by Computer Science, Criminal Justice Administration, and Health Administration.[3]
Mayes headed the institution until his death in 2005, when his son, Robert Mayes, Jr., assumed the presidency.[4]
Accreditation
Columbia Southern has been accredited by the Distance Education Accreditation Commission (DEAC), formerly the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), since 2001.[5][3] DEAC is an accreditation agency recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Columbia Southern is also a member of the Higher Education Transfer Alliance (HETA), a voluntary group of accredited institutions that are concerned with the importance of student mobility, enhancing success in transfer of credit, and affirming the responsibility and prerogative of individual institutions with respect to acceptance of transfer credits. It was one of the few accredited institutions selected by the DEAC to start offering accredited online Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), but the program was discontinued in March 2014.[6][7]
Faculty and agreements with other institutions
Currently, Columbia Southern has more than 1,000 full-time faculty and staff. It enrolls and graduates thousands of students annually on both national and international level. Columbia Southern also offers online degrees through partnerships with the University of North Alabama and Waldorf College.[8] The university is one of approximately 140 schools approved to offer up-front tuition assistance through the U.S. Army’s centralized tuition assistance portal, GoArmyEd.[9]
Academics
Columbia Southern consists of three colleges, offering a total of 26 degrees at the associate, bachelor and master levels, and 21 certificate programs online.[10]
References
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics
- ↑ "University adopts mascot". Columbia Southern University. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- 1 2 3 Barron's Guide to Distance Learning: Degrees, Certificates, Courses by Pat Criscito (2002), ISBN 0-7641-1791-2, page 179
- 1 2 History of CSU, Columbia Southern University website (accessed February 24, 2008)
- ↑ Distance Education and Training Council Directory of Accredited Institutions 2007-2008, June 18, 2007, page 11
- ↑ http://communicator.columbiasouthern.edu/2014/03/registrar-policy-update/
- ↑ Six Institutions gain Accreditation Distance Education and Training Council website (accessed May 24, 2010)
- ↑ Online Degree Program , www.OnlineDegreeProg.com, Retrieved 23 Feb 2014
- ↑ List of GoArmyEd partner Colleges, GoArmyEd website (accessed March 28, 2009)
- ↑ "Online Degree Programs". Columbia Southern University. Retrieved 25 June 2015.