Online Schools: Maryland

Named in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I, the state of Maryland was "born into bloodshed," and formally entered the Union during the American Revolution. The state's close proximity to the nation's capitol has allowed for a rich and complex political and cultural history. The Maryland Toleration Act, issued in 1649, was one of the first laws to promote acceptance among differing Christianities and is considered a precursor to the First Amendment. As the northern most southern state, Maryland remained part of the Union during the Civil War, although many Southern sympathizers easily crossed the Potomac River in order to fight for the Confederacy. The largest battle that occurred on Maryland soil, The Battle of Antietam, was a crucial and significant victory for the Union and a turning point for the ending of the War.

Ranked consistently as number one in the nation by Education Week and the College Board in both 2009 and 2010, the Maryland education system is one of the strongest in the United States. However, distance education and online schools in Maryland have been slow to develop, especially in comparison with the advancements made by other states. Maryland's online schools consist of the Maryland Virtual School (MVS), which offers credit-granting courses to high school students across the state, but does not offer a diploma and contains little to no legislative appropriation.

Of the 31 states that have created virtual schools, all but one have more students taking online classes than Maryland. States such as Idaho and Arkansas have far larger state virtual schools, despite having significantly smaller student populations. Because traditional education programs have proven successful, superintendents speculate that there may be less motivation to establish new distance learning models. In addition, Maryland does not provide options for full-time online schools, which exist in about half of all states. With the award of $250 dollars in Race to the Top funds, the state plans to expand online education as well as professional development for online educators.

Maryland's online schools provide an array of post-secondary education and degree options. The University of Maryland University College (UMUC), a part of the University of Maryland, College Park, has offered online courses since 1994. This school has won the Instructional Technology Council's 2010 award for Outstanding eLearning Program and was recognized as the 2009 Distance Program of the Year by the IMS Global Learning Consortium. UMUC has recently begun offering a Master in Teaching program, in addition to boasting more than 25 degree options and over 30 minor programs, a unique choice for distance learners. UMUC's distance learning program also offers membership to select clubs and societies, full access to writing and support centers, library resources, and career counseling. Other schools have followed UMUC's lead in developing post-secondary online schools; Maryland is home to the College of Southern Maryland, which has recently expanded its degree offerings to include Sports Management and Applied Science Technology.