Elizabeth City State University was founded in 1891 as a Normal School for the purpose of "teaching and training teachers of the colored race to teach in the common schools of North Carolina." In 1939, the school's name was officially changed to Elizabeth State Teachers College and in 1969 to Elizabeth City State University. Today, ECSU is a public university offering baccalaureate degree programs in the basic arts and sciences, professional and pre-professional areas, selected master's degree programs, and a doctor of pharmacy in collaboration with UNC-Chapel Hill.

Elizabeth City State University's heritage provides a rich background for serving its increasingly multi-cultural student body. The university provides a challenging and supportive environment that prepares its students for knowledgeable, responsible participation and leadership in an ever-changing, technologically advanced society.

Located in the historic Albemarle area in northeastern North Carolina, ECSU is near the world-renowned Outer Banks beaches and recreation areas of North Carolina and the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia, which includes the resort cities of Virginia Beach, Colonial Williamsburg, and historic Jamestown and Yorktown. U.S. Highways 17 and 158 as well as the Norfolk International Airport (VA) make the city and university easily accessible.

As a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina, Elizabeth City State University promotes excellence in teaching as its primary responsibility to meet the needs of the students. The university also seeks to identify and address the needs of northeastern North Carolina with particular attention to supporting its environmentally sensitive economic development.

Highlights

• ECSU recently received a $750,000 grant from the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation (North Carolina) to enhance experiential training for students enrolled in the UNC-Chapel Hill/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program. Experiential training is a central component of the UNC-Chapel Hill/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program because it prepares pharmacy students to become comprehensive pharmacist professionals who are drug information experts. 

• ECSU received a $400,000 grant from the Wachovia Foundation in support of the UNC-Chapel Hill/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program. This donation will be used to cover training, recruitment and retention costs for prospective pharmacy applicants from north eastern North Carolina.

• The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded ECSU $3 million under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for the Africa Education Initiative Textbook and Learning Materials Program. Under the leadership of Dr. Johnny Houston, a senior research professor in the ECSU Mathematics and Computer Science Department, participating faculty and staff completed over 1 million instructional materials for Senegalese school children before the 2008 deadline.

• America’s Best Colleges ranked Elizabeth City State University #3 in the category of Top Public Baccalaureate Colleges in the South; #12 among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and #26 in the Best Baccalaureate Colleges the South category in 2008.

Distance Education at Elizabeth City State University offers students the option to achieve educational goals without attending traditional on-campus classes. Elizabeth City State University offers courses both at off-campus sites and online.

Mission

The Distance Education program supports and encourages collaborative efforts involving faculty, staff, and administrators working to serve as a model for change and growth at ECSU via distance education delivery methods. Distance education at Elizabeth City State University extends availability and access to convenient course offerings to students who are isolated from campus due to time and/or geographic location, utilizing existing, new, and emerging technological strategies.

Goals

1. To offer an academically sound alternative to traditional face-to-face instruction via distance education technologies to meet the needs of non-traditional students.  
2. To provide administrators, faculty, and staff with professional development opportunities and resources essential for teaching and learning in online distance education courses.
3. To increase student enrollment and retention by offering convenient and accessible online course and support services to address the needs of online students which supports the current and future workforce needs of the State of North Carolina. 
4. To continuously maintain and upgrade the technologies necessary to deliver quality online courses and to review current and emerging trends in online distance education in an effort to integrate best practices. 

ECSU currently offers online courses towards degrees. ECSU does not offer a complete degree completion program online at this time.

For more information about Distance Education at ECSU:

Distance Education
Elizabeth City State University
Campus Box 924
1704 Weeksville Road
Elizabeth City, NC 27909

Toll-Free: (877) 432-7662

Click here to email ECSU's Distance Education office.