World Campus History

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A Century of Commitment to Distance Education

Since 1892, when it founded one of the nation's first correspondence study programs, Penn State has been a pioneer in distance education. With the launch of the World Campus in 1998, the 25th campus of Penn State, the University reaffirmed its commitment to providing educational access to learners around the world. 

The World Campus uses multiple technologies to make some of Penn State's most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate, and continuing professional education programs available anytime, anywhere through the World Wide Web, computer interfacing, and other media. Today, the World Campus offers more than 50 degree and certificate programs through distance and online education.

Penn State Milestones

• 1892—Penn State was one of three universities, including the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago, that launched correspondence study, building on the still-experimental system of Rural Free Delivery to meet the agricultural education needs of isolated farmers.
  
  
• 1920s—With the advent of radio, Penn State opened a high-power radio station and offered live radio courses to students as far away as California.
  
  
• 1950s—In response to rapid postwar growth in student population, Penn State installed a live instructional television system connecting 24 classrooms with a studio for one-way video, two-way audio transmission of courses on campus.
  
  
• 1978—Penn State installed its first satellite downlink. By 1987, all 17 Penn State campuses were equipped with downlinks, with an uplink at University Park.
  
  
• 1986—Penn State was an early innovator in the use of interactive compressed video by installing dedicated T-1 lines connecting the University Park campus with the Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.
  
  
• 1988—The American Center for the Study of Distance Education in Penn State's College of Education was established as the home of The American Journal of Distance Education.
  
  
• 1994—Penn State established the Department of Distance Education.
  
  
• 1997—The International Council for Distance Education held its 18th World Conference at Penn State, capping a series of national and international conferences on distance education that began in 1994.
  
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• 1998—The first students enrolled in signature Penn State programs offered through the World Campus. The initial group of 41 students enrolled in Fundamentals of Engineering, Noise Control Engineering, Chemical Dependency Counseling, and Turfgrass Management. In the coming years, diverse groups of learners will have access "anytime, anywhere," to the education and training they need throughout their lifetime.
  
  
• 1999—Penn State's School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management joined forces with the restaurant industry to establish an associate degree program, offered through the World Campus, in hotel, restaurant, and institutional management.
  
  
• 2000—The Architectural Daylighting course received two prestigious awards at the Lightfair International 2000 conference, the largest North American trade show servicing the architectural  and commercial lighting industries.
  
  
• 2001—Penn State's Board of Trustees approved the Intercollege Master's in Business Administration (iMBA) online education program to serve experienced professionals whose location or responsibilities prevent them from attending an on-campus program.
  
  
• 2002—With the addition of an adult student pursuing online studies from Antarctica, the World Campus served online education students on all 7 continents, in all 50 states, and in 43 countries.
  
  
• 2003—The World Campus, one of the original institutions to participate in eArmyU, received the go-ahead to add more  academic programs, including a baccalaureate degree program in letters, arts, and sciences, and associate degrees in letters, arts, and sciences; dietetic food systems management; and hotel, restaurant, and institutional management.
  
  
• 2004—The Pennsylvania State Education Association awarded its first Seal of Recognition to 8 Penn State College of Education programs delivered through the World Campus, after determining that they met the rigorous standards developed by the National Staff Development Council. The programs included both the master of education in adult education and the master of education in curriculum and instruction (teacher leadership and children's literature tracks), plus certificate programs in educational technology  integration, children's literature, family literacy, and distance education.
  
  
• 2004—Twenty-four managers, engineers, vice presidents, and analysts were the first to receive Penn State MBA degrees from the online iMBA program delivered through World Campus. The class included graduates from such companies as Weyerhauser, JP Morgan Chase, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boeing, AT&T, and Dow Corning, as well as the U.S. Navy.