The Chemistry department believes that there is a population of potential students for the CH 12xe online series that we are not currently reaching—that of highly motivated high school students.  The Chemistry Department Advisory Board also emphasized the potential for this market during their annual visit.

In an attempt to reach these students, Chemistry Ecampus exhibited this April at the National Science Teachers’ Association (NSTA) National Conference in San Antonio, TX.  Dr. Marita Barth (Instructor) and Kim Thackray (Chemistry Ecampus Coordinator) staffed the OSU booth.  They talked with high school teachers from all over the nation, making sure the teachers understood how our online Chemistry classes could help their high-level students reach their educational goals.  Students who would benefit from taking our General Chemistry classes might be:

• at high schools without chemistry classes or with limited chemistry offerings.
• at high schools without AP (Advanced Placement) or IB (International Baccalaureate) chemistry classes.
• at high schools that offer AP/IB classes, but students want/need flexibility, prefer the online mode, or want a college course in addition (summer prior to college).

Teachers were especially interested in learning that their students would pay in-state tuition for our online classes, no matter where they live.  Dr. Barth and Ms. Thackray talked with over 400 attendees of the conference, creating awareness of OSU’s online chemistry program and obtaining contact information from those most interested.  Ms. Thackray will continue to monitor student registrations to determine the effectiveness of this outreach.