UCSC Press Release: Distance learning program enables Silicon Valley engineer to earn a master's degree from UCSC--without commuting

UCSC NAV BAR

May 25, 2000
Contact: Tim Stephens (831) 459-2495; stephens@cats.ucsc.edu
Distance learning program enables Silicon Valley engineer to earn a master's degree from UCSC--without commuting
For Immediate Release
SANTA CRUZ, CA--When Steve Canby receives his master's degree during graduation ceremonies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, on Friday, June 9, it will be one of the few times he has set foot on the UCSC campus. Yet most of the courses he took over the past three years to earn his degree were taught at UCSC. How did he do it? Welcome to the brave new world of distance learning.
Canby is the first graduate of an innovative master's degree program in computer engineering with specialization in network engineering, offered jointly by UCSC's Jack Baskin School of Engineering and UCSC Extension.
All of the courses required for the degree are offered in Santa ClaraValley through UCSC Extension. A pair of high-tech classrooms, one at UCSC and another at the Extension facilities in Cupertino, enable a professor at one site to teach two classrooms of students 25 miles apart simultaneously.
"Most of the classes were taught from Santa Cruz and beamed over the hill," Canby said. "It started off feeling kind of funny because there's a TV camera on you, but after a couple of weeks you start interacting with the professor and you forget that you're not in the same room."
About 60 other students are currently enrolled in the program, which was created to meet the needs of working engineers and other technical professionals in Silicon Valley. For Canby, who lives in San Jose and works in Santa Clara, the convenience of the program was crucial, enabling him to earn an advanced degree while continuing to work as a computer programmer at Gibbons and Associates, the software engineering firm where he has worked for the past 12 years.
"This program worked well because it was designed for people who are working in Silicon Valley," Canby said. "I had thought about graduate school before, but the commute to the closest UC campuses, Berkeley and Santa Cruz, would be too much for me, and Stanford is too expensive."
UCSC and UCSC Extension began offering the specialized master's program in fall 1997 in response to the rapidly growing demand for people with network engineering skills.
"Silicon Valley is the home of many of the world's leading networking companies, and there is a great demand for highly trained specialists to design, develop, and support leading-edge network products and services," said Patrick Mantey, dean of the Jack Baskin School of Engineering.
Canby said many of the courses he took were directly related to his current work. "It was clear they would help me immensely in my job," he said. "One of the requirements, a network design project, involved actually implementing a network protocol, and that was 100 percent applicable to my work."
Not surprisingly, there were times when Canby felt challenged by the competing demands of course work, job, and family life. He and his wife, a financial analyst in Silicon Valley, have a four-year-old daughter. But the program did a good job of meeting his needs, both professionally and personally, he said.
UCSC Extension is the largest provider of professional education in Silicon Valley and on the Central Coast, serving more than 50,000 students annually. With facilities in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Milpitas, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, UCSC Extension offers 3,000 courses each year in a wide range of continuing education programs for professional development and personal growth.
A course catalog and additional information about UCSC Extension are available online at http://www.ucsc-extension.edu.
#####
Press Release Home | Search Press Releases | Press Release Archive | Services for Journalists

UCSC nav bar

Maintained by:pioweb@cats.ucsc.edu



May 25, 2000 Contact: Tim Stephens (831) 459-2495; stephens@cats.ucsc.edu Distance learning program enables Silicon Valley engineer to earn a master's degree from UCSC--without commuting For Immediate Release SANTA CRUZ, CA--When Steve Canby receives his master's degree during graduation ceremonies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, on Friday, June 9, it will be one of the few times he has set foot on the UCSC campus. Yet most of the courses he took over the past three years to earn his degree were taught at UCSC. How did he do it? Welcome to the brave new world of distance learning. Canby is the first graduate of an innovative master's degree program in computer engineering with specialization in network engineering, offered jointly by UCSC's Jack Baskin School of Engineering and UCSC Extension. All of the courses required for the degree are offered in Santa ClaraValley through UCSC Extension. A pair of high-tech classrooms, one at UCSC and another at the Extension facilities in Cupertino, enable a professor at one site to teach two classrooms of students 25 miles apart simultaneously. "Most of the classes were taught from Santa Cruz and beamed over the hill," Canby said. "It started off feeling kind of funny because there's a TV camera on you, but after a couple of weeks you start interacting with the professor and you forget that you're not in the same room." About 60 other students are currently enrolled in the program, which was created to meet the needs of working engineers and other technical professionals in Silicon Valley. For Canby, who lives in San Jose and works in Santa Clara, the convenience of the program was crucial, enabling him to earn an advanced degree while continuing to work as a computer programmer at Gibbons and Associates, the software engineering firm where he has worked for the past 12 years. "This program worked well because it was designed for people who are working in Silicon Valley," Canby said. "I had thought about graduate school before, but the commute to the closest UC campuses, Berkeley and Santa Cruz, would be too much for me, and Stanford is too expensive." UCSC and UCSC Extension began offering the specialized master's program in fall 1997 in response to the rapidly growing demand for people with network engineering skills. "Silicon Valley is the home of many of the world's leading networking companies, and there is a great demand for highly trained specialists to design, develop, and support leading-edge network products and services," said Patrick Mantey, dean of the Jack Baskin School of Engineering. Canby said many of the courses he took were directly related to his current work. "It was clear they would help me immensely in my job," he said. "One of the requirements, a network design project, involved actually implementing a network protocol, and that was 100 percent applicable to my work." Not surprisingly, there were times when Canby felt challenged by the competing demands of course work, job, and family life. He and his wife, a financial analyst in Silicon Valley, have a four-year-old daughter. But the program did a good job of meeting his needs, both professionally and personally, he said. UCSC Extension is the largest provider of professional education in Silicon Valley and on the Central Coast, serving more than 50,000 students annually. With facilities in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Milpitas, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, UCSC Extension offers 3,000 courses each year in a wide range of continuing education programs for professional development and personal growth. A course catalog and additional information about UCSC Extension are available online at http://www.ucsc-extension.edu. ##### Press Release Home \| Search Press Releases \| Press Release Archive \| Services for Journalists
	Maintained by:pioweb@cats.ucsc.edu