Virginia Tech’s Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning displayed its newest marketing element Wednesday, with the unveiling of a newly designed Blackburg Transit bus to advertise its mission.
“This is a signature marketing milestone for distance learning for Virginia Tech,” said Daniel Wubah, Tech’s vice president and dean for undergraduate education and deputy provost. “The distance-learning journey is one to be celebrated not only because of where we have come from, but also because of where we are headed.”
Founded 13 years ago, the IDDL has worked to extend the university’s campus beyond its physical borders by offering courses online and researching other possible environments.
“It was in 1998 that Virginia Tech responded to the needs for extending education beyond the traditional classroom, and it was a strategic initiative to create IDDL,” said Mark McNamee, the university provost. “Thirteen years later, distance learning at Virginia Tech is adaptive and it’s mobile and it’s always evolving to meet the wide needs of the students.”
The IDDL is not the first organization to use the BT as a form of advertising — several others, including Wells Fargo, have had buses wrapped for them as well.
“I think it’s tremendously advantageous — it’s like a moving billboard,” said Fiona Rhodes, a marketing specialist for BT. “You see them all over the town, all day long, every day, so I think it’s a tremendous way to get your name out there.”
A version of this article appeared in the Jan 19 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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