Community Development On-line Master's Program Up and Running
The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development is involved in an exciting on-line degree program. The Community Development On-line Master's Program is a program of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (IDEA), and it involves six participating universities: Iowa State University , Kansas State University, North Dakota State University , South Dakota State University, University of Missouri , and the University of Nebraska . NCRCRD won a USDA Higher Education grant to develop this program and works closely with Great Plains IDEA and the participating universities to market the program, develop courses and recruit interested students. Students in the program take 5 core courses and choose electives from three specialization tracks; this is a 36 credit hour program with the last six hours being the capstone experience. Classes for the program began in Fall 2005, and students are excited about the course and the ability to complete a master's program on-line
 Staci Eagle Elk is a student in the Community Development On-line Master's program, attending South Dakota State University . She is the Director of Tourism for the Osage Nation and finds the program directly related to her work, “This program is helping me in my job by providing me the necessary tools to make decisions for economic development on the Osage Reservation.”
As a graduate student, mother of two children, and a full time employee, she is forced to manage her time carefully, “I usually spend my weekends and late nights catching up on reading assignments.” Even with all of the demands on her time, she enjoys the flexibility of this degree program and not having to be in class at a certain time, “You can continue your life, especially if it is busy.” She also likes that the program includes a track specifically on Native Communities.
Outside of attending school, she spends her free time attending powwows and cultural activities, “I like to bead and create different dance outfits and beadwork. Currently, I am working on a southern buckskin dress.”
Staci has taken all of the offered courses in the program thus far and intends on being one of its first graduates.
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