POWER June 2012 - 68

EDUCATION
dent tuition and fees is $465.49 per credit, and
nonresident tuition is $868.61 per credit.
El-Rewini pointed out that UND has
reduced-tuition arrangements with several
states that allow out-of-state students to pay
less than the full nonresident rate. Students
who are active duty military members, veterans,
or spouses/dependents of a member of
the U.S. Armed Forces qualify for a tuitionwaiver
program that is equivalent to the
tuition charged to North Dakota residents,
regardless of their residency status.
Any online student enrolled in the UND
program is eligible to apply for federal financial
aid, provided that they are fully admitted
to their academic program and enrolled in at
least six credit hours per semester. A variety
of options may be available, including loans,
grants, and scholarships.
" UND has many alumni in the power industry
who share opportunities for co-ops
and permanent employment in their firms
with current students, " El-Rewini said. " This
information is posted on UND's internal
website and distributed to students for them
to follow up with the companies. Some companies
will send representatives to the UND
campus to speak about career opportunities
with their firms and to specifically recruit
UND graduates to fill open positions. "
Bringing the Real World into the
Classroom
White appreciates that his NECE instructors
have extensive experience in an industrial environment
but specialize in a particular area.
They work from a class plan but also bring
their experience to the table. They use examples
of things that have happened in their
careers to relate to the subject at hand.
" The instructors stimulate class discussions
and lead us students down roads that
get people looking at all possibilities, " White
said. " The instructors do not just teach from
a book; they live it and can help you apply
what you have learned to your job. "
White explained that the NECE online
classes seem to be mostly made up of people
already working in the industry or related
industries and in every position. White said
" the students sometimes contribute as much
to the experience as the instructors. The students
give examples of issues they have dealt
with that pertain to the class subject and how
things worked out for them. "
UND also provides a large amount of
practical training for its online students. " The
UND Departments of Electrical and Mechanical
Engineering have working relationships
with many of the local and regional electric
utilities, " El-Rewini said. " These utilities are
constantly hiring UND's graduates and/or offering
them summer co-ops, internships, or
scholarships. "
Some of the technical staff working at
these utilities attend and teach portions of
UND's electric power systems classes, ElRewini
explained. As part of their lessons,
they assign practical real-life class projects.
Some of UND's graduate students also work
and do collaborative research on problems or
challenges electric utilities are investigating.
Providing Greater Access to
Quality Education
Through their innovative online classes,
Bismarck State College and the University
of North Dakota offer students interested in
power industry careers a winning combination
of a rigorous academic education and
real-world practical training. Online education
is opening up learning opportunities to
many nontraditional students who, in turn,
will be able to make valuable future contributions
to the electric power industry. ■
-Angela Neville, JD is POWER's
senior editor.
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