Online university looks to create sense of fraternity with video contest

Online university looks to create sense of fraternity with video contest

Liberty University recently announced the launch of a student video contest in an effort to improve the sense of community in its online degree program.

The contest, labeled Your 24, will challenge participants to create videos that will take the viewer through the typical day of an online student.

The purpose of the exercise is to help the university capture the essence of the distance education experience and share it amongst its current and prospective students.

"Online learning can be an immersing experience, and it's also a personal one," said the university's executive director John Donges. "Building an online community is paramount to Liberty, which seeks to engage students and build a sense of family regardless of their location."

Winning videos will be selected in mid-December and will be based on creativity, technical merit and the ability to convey the online experience. First prize is a one semester scholarship to the university.

Today, over 3.5 million students are taking online courses and earning online college degrees. At the secondary school level, over 700,000 high school students are taking one or more courses online and nearly 40 states have established state-led virtual schools.