Nova Southeastern University (NSU), a minority serving institution, has more than 25,000 students and is the seventh largest independent institution nationally. NSU awards undergraduate and graduate degrees in a wide variety of fields including marine biology and oceanography. The NSU Oceanographic Center (OC) carries out innovative, basic and applied research and provides high-quality graduate and undergraduate education in a broad range of marine science and related disciplines. The OC also serves as a community resource for information, research and education on oceanographic and environmental issues. Flexible, learner-centered distance education courses have been offered by the OC since 1993. These courses may be taken individually for general interest, or for undergraduate or graduate credit.

This paper describes the implementation of the new American Meteorological Society (AMS) “Online Ocean Studies” undergraduate course into the NSU OC curriculum as the base for a graduate-level distance course entitled “Ocean Observing”. This necessitated the supplementation of AMS learning materials to a graduate level, and their adaptation to accommodate WebCT e-learning systems software. The course was taught for the first time during the Spring 2006 term and included 11 students from the US, UK, and Bahamas. These students were variously enrolled in the MS in Marine Biology, MS in Coastal Zone Management (distance) and Graduate Certificate in Coastal Studies programs. End-of-course evaluations reported a very positive experience overall. In this poster paper, specific comments regarding the development and evaluation of the new course will be provided by the instructor, a graduate of the course, and the Coordinator of Distance Learning at the NSU OC.