Student Comments

The Numbers
The CECP began in the Spring Semester, 2001 with CEE 582 delivered via satellite to TELETECHNET locations in Virginia. The first online Internet class was CEE 687 (Now CEE 787) in the Fall Semester, 2003. Since 2001, over 300 students have taken classes from 29 US States (AL, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, LA, MA, MI ,ME, MD, MS , NH, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC,TN, TX, VA, VE, WA and WI) and fourteen foreign countries (Australia, Al-Khuwair (Oman),Brazil, Canada, Dubai(UAE), France, Ireland, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kindom, Portugal, Spain,)

A large number of students (> 65%) work for consulting engineering firms. The next group works for States or the Federal Government ( 25%) with the remainder from universities (6%) and industry (4%). A complete list of employers, their locations, and numbers of students is available upon request.Ninety-six Coastal Engineering Certificates (CEC) have been awarded as of December 2013. . For a variety of reasons (personal, moving, work commitments, degree of difficulty, inadequate background, etc.) some students (9%) have only taken one course. Since there is no time limit, these students may return at any time in the future for additional classes.

Student Opinions
1. State Government (Division of Natural Resources)
   - The CECP absolutely helped my career as a coastal manager

      and engineer.               

    -The Internet courses allowed me to attend class while working full time.
                                                         Robert B. Neal, CEC 2006
                                                         Coastal Engineer, Lee County
                                                         Ft. Myers, FL

      (Mr. Neal has since gone on to earn the online, MS degree in Coastal Engineering at ODU)

2. Consulting Engineering Firm (US)
   -The CECP definitely helped my career in several ways:
   -The materials provided (text, handouts, electronic files, website links, etc.) have proved to be invaluable.
   -Other people in my office now come to me to use this material.
   -The course was a unique, wonderful blend of academics and real-world applications.
   -The CECP courses are not too much different than being there in the classroom.
   -The environment was friendly and receptive to participation by students over the Internet.
   -The classes provided a forum for sharing with other students from/with a wide, geographical spread of experiences.
   -It was marvelous to be able to go back and review (via the video archives) some part of a lecture that I did not comprehend the first time or a lecture I missed due to work conflicts.
   -Thanks for the great education.
                                                           Kim Garvey, CEC 2006
                                                           Coastal Engineer
                                                           Moffatt & Nichols
                                                           Los Angeles, CA

3. Consulting Engineering Firm (Foreign)
    -The courses covered many facets of coastal engineering, providing the theory to apply to coastal problems.
    -Across all four courses, conditions under which analytical formulas were derived and the limitations were explained. This was one of the most useful tools I obtained for now I have an understanding of when certain formulas (and methods) should not be applied.
    -The level of detail regarding dredging operations could only be obtained from years of experience. This information is not readily available and helpful when working with dredging contractors.
    -The live video streaming is impressive technology. It does feel like you are in the room.
    -I enjoyed being able to ask questions during the lectures, over the Internet.
    -The availability of Professor Basco from the other side of the world was impressive. He always responded to emails promptly and provided excellent feedback on questions and homework.
                                                          Tanya Stul, CEC 2005
                                                          Coastal Engineer / Geomorphologist
                                                          Oceanica Consulting Pty Ltd
                                                          Perth, Australia

4. Consulting Engineering Firm (US)

     Looking back, Old Dominion's Coastal Engineering Certificate Program was the perfect program for a full-time practicing professional.  The program exposed me to those fundamental coastal engineering courses necessary for tackling real life problems in the coastal environment.  The program offers a multifaceted understanding of coastal engineering from technical mechanics and theories to large scale coastal management, environmental, and planning issues.  The distance learning course format offers maximum schedule flexibility without compromising a sense of belonging to the class.  I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in advancing their careers as practicing engineers, managers, or administrators in both the public and private sector.

                                                           Russell J. "Joey" Coco, Jr.  CEC 2008

                                                           Coastal Engineer/ President

                                                           Engensus, Inc.

                                                           Baton Rouge, LA

5. And Many Others (to be updated soon)