Welcome to the September 2009 edition of NACTEL News - with news, information, and insights from the National Coalition for Telecommunications and Learning.
Table of Contents
Your future starts right here... right now.
Early Fall Classes begin September 17th 2009
Online Telecom Education -built by the industry for the industry
| B.S. Degree in Professional Studies in: |
A.S. Degrees in Applied Information Technology in: |
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Find out more about all of NACTEL's online industry-sponsored education programs.
"The reason I could do it is because Pathways paid for my tuition and books. All I had to do was give my time."
James Grose
Central Office Technician
Qwest
CWA 7702
Bachelor's Degree
After six years in the Navy, James earned an Associate's degree in General Studies while living in California. When his wife was offered a position in the fashion industry in 1990, the couple moved to Denver.
James quickly found work as an electrician, but working in construction wasn't always as stable a job as he wanted. So when a friend told him about an opening with Qwest, James jumped at the chance. As a Qwest employee, James transferred to Nebraska and ended up moving a few times before eventually returning to Colorado.
James recalls, "When I was younger I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just got a general Associate's degree, but I always wanted to go back to school. When an e-mail came about the NACTEL program at Pace University, I was very interested."
When he started in 2003, James was able to transfer 60 credits into the program from his prior college experience. That allowed him to take his time completing his degree. James' advice to potential students is to make a plan, set aside study time, and keep a schedule so that all areas of your life get a share of time. "This was a great experience for me. I really liked that Pace emulates the classroom setting with the discussion board. You still have the ability to exchange ideas and have discussions with your classmates and professors."
James attended the Pace graduation ceremonies in New York City. "It was awesome to go on stage and meet the President of the University, and the reception food was great!" While in New York, James and his wife were able to visit with some friends, see a couple great shows, and enjoy Fleet Week, which gave him the chance to catch up with his Navy buddies.
James is in the application process to pursue a Master's degree in Information Systems, which he plans to start later. For now he is ready to enjoy summer in the Rocky Mountains.
NACTEL Partner EMBARQ merges with CenturyTel to form new company: CenturyLink
Two companies are coming together to create a stronger, more efficient and competitive company, with operations in 33 states, approximately 7.5 million access lines and more than 2.1 million broadband customers.
Department of Education - Online students performed better
An article published in late June by Inside Higher Ed highlighted a recent Department of Education meta-analysis report. The DOE study revealed that "students who took all or part of their instruction online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through face-to-face instruction."
Our surveys indicate that 95 - 100% of students in NACTEL's online telecom programs at Pace University are satisfied with their education.
Did you know...
- Telephone is derived from two Greek words, tele + phone, meaning far off voice or sound.
(Tele, far off + phone, voice or sound). -
Phone service was established at the White House one year after its invention. President Rutherford B. Hayes was the first to have phone service (1877-81).
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The first transatlantic wedding took place on December 2, 1933. The groom was in Michigan and the bride was in Sweden. The ceremony took seven minutes and cost $47.50. Cheap wedding!
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The number of years it took in the United States for the car to achieve a 25% market share was 44 years and for the phone it was 35 years - for the Internet it was only 7 years!
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In Milan, Italy, when an operator dialed a wrong number, the phone company fined the operator.
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The commercial wireless phone was first introduced in Chicago in 1982 by Ameritech.
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