Kelvin William Bentley, Ph.D., has been appointed as the new Director of Distance Learning at Northampton Community College (NCC).
As director he provides overall leadership for the internal and external operations of the Office of Distance Learning, collaborates with deans to expand and support the growth of the program, hires distance learning faculty and staff, and maintains the quality of courses, faculty, staff and the Website.
Dr. Bentley earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Delaware, where he also received a master’s degree. He graduated magna cum laude from Wayne State University with a degree in psychology.
Before coming to NCC, he was director of online and extended education at Seton Hall University, where he developed strategic plans to offer an increased number of online, evening and weekend courses. He is the author of numerous articles and presentations, and coordinated the first online psychology degree program in Louisiana.
“I will use my role to help improve access to NCC’s credit-based distance learning courses and student services,” Dr. Bentley says.
His many goals include, in part, a pilot study of synchronous online tutoring in math and English, tutorials to explain distance learning and develop more online and hybrid courses.
Bentley believes that distance learning has a potential to offer enormous value to students. It helps reduce the amount of time students need to commute to campus, allowing that time to be redirected toward jobs and family responsibility. On the other hand, Bentley asserts, greater flexibility does not equate to “easy.” Students need to complete assignments and exams around specific weekly deadlines. This enables students to learn from the instructor and fellow students.
Over 1,500 students are enrolled this fall in NCC’s Distance Learning program. The program offers over 150 courses and the ability to complete the following degrees online.
For more information go to distancelearning@northampton.edu or call 610-332-6089.
