This is a Demonstration Website created by Jeanne Stork in connection with her Doctoral program in Instructional Design and Technology at Blue Marble University.
Crystal Fjord University is a demonstration model for a fictional university that was designed to show one way that colleges can use WordPress.com. Notes that add explanations to pages or to specific items are often written in italics.
About Crystal Fjord University:
Crystal Fjord University is a small private not-for-profit university.
Our students have traditionally come from the local community, but we now offer housing placement assistance through our Student Life department. Many of our departments offer degrees in whole or in part to online students. See Online Learning for a list of degrees that can be achieved completely online.
Crystal Fjord University regularly ranks in the top 300 American Universities and Colleges as reported by a number of agencies including the U.S. News and World Report. We are a community-university primarily offering Associate in Science, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Science degrees. One of our recent achievements is the elimination of our largest lecture halls. While the regional public university often utilizes lecture halls with over two hundred students in a class, our largest lecture halls only seat one hundred students and we avoid using them whenever possible. We have the same philosophy with our online courses: smaller is generally better.
Crystal Falls University’s Associate’s degrees are designed to be completed in four semesters of full-time attendance, Bachelor’s degrees are designed to be completed in eight semesters of full-time attendance, and our Master’s Degrees are designed to be completed in four to six semesters depending on the department’s requirements. Any of these programs can be chosen by part-time students with the understanding that additional time will be required to complete the degrees.
Our Student Life department assists students with the non-academic side of education. It offers a wide range of activities and services, including helping to link students to financial assistance opportunities. Although many of Student Life’s programs are aimed at students who attend our on-campus and hybrid programs, online students can receive financial aid and other services if needed.
Crystal Falls University calls each of its terms a semester, but we are technically on the trimester system, with each term lasting fourteen weeks instead of the normal fifteen-week programs for fall and spring semesters. Our on-campus class sessions are slightly longer than many colleges to make up for the missing week. Instead of a shortened summer intensive term, our summer term is also fourteen weeks long. Full-time students are required to attend classes two out of the three teams each year, generally the fall and spring terms. Students often work temporary jobs or have internships during their semesters off. Some of our majors allow students who are highly motivated to attend classes all three terms and thus to graduate early. If you are interested in this possibility, check with your department to see if it is a possibility.
English and Google Translate: Google Translate is available on many of Crystal Fjord University’s pages, but English is the language of instruction for all courses except courses specifically taught by the Foreign Languages Department. We are aware that there are many online translators, including the one provided by Google, but we expect all work to be completed in English. If you use a translator to read course material, there is an excellent chance that some key concepts will be lost. Likewise, if you write in a language other than English then use a translator to convert your work into English, information will be lost. Students who need assistance to improve their English skills should take non-credit English as a Second Language (ESL) courses through the Writing Center before applying to Crystal Fjord University.
Crystal Fjord University 