LOWELL, Mass. - (Business Wire) The most prestigious international group of colleges and universities that offer online learning recently presented its top honor to UMass Lowell Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney, a pioneer in the field.

Moloney was the only American and one of two educators to receive the Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual award at the Sloan Consortium’s annual international conference.

“The 2009 recipients have demonstrated exceptional leadership and real success in advancing online education,” said University of Illinois Prof. Burks Oakley, award committee chairman.

UMass Lowell has won all Sloan-C top awards, except one added this year, for excellence in programs and faculty development. In 2008, UMass Lowell and UMassOnline received the Most Outstanding Online Learning and Teaching Award. Sloan-C – an offshoot of the Sloan Foundation for higher education excellence – is dedicated to integrating quality online learning into mainstream higher education.

Moloney’s honor is for 15 years of advancing online education. She launched UMass Lowell’s program when other institutions did not see the need, and under her leadership, it grew from 400 students and a few courses to more than 12,000 online enrollments and full degree programs, including an MBA

Moloney is a national leader who worked with the foundation to establish the “Sloan Semester,” allowing thousands of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina to continue their education until they returned to campus. Moloney continues to innovate, adding “blended” programs at UMass Lowell combining online and classroom learning.

Moloney said the award is humbling because she is in the company of past winners who are national experts. It also “shows what our campus stands for…It really is a statement about UMass Lowell’s capacity for innovation.”

“Jacquie Moloney epitomizes UMass Lowell’s entrepreneurial approach to education that distinguishes this university from others around the nation,” said Chancellor Marty Meehan, who promoted Moloney to executive vice chancellor. “This vision for the future of education and drive to meet the needs of students and employers are just a few of the reasons why UMass Lowell is growing, online and on campus.”

Moloney initiated the program with faculty and students when she headed UMass Lowell’s Continuing Studies and Corporate Education Division and was expanding access to adults who wanted to pursue education but faced time and distance constraints. “We know from the response we got over the years it was the right thing to do.”

UMass Lowell, with a national reputation in science, engineering and technology, is committed to educating students for lifelong success in a diverse world and conducting research and outreach activities that sustain the economic, environmental and social health of the region. UML offers its 13,000 students more than 120 degree choices, internships, five-year combined bachelor’s to master’s programs and doctoral studies in the colleges of Arts, Sciences, Engineering and Management, School of Health and Environment, and Graduate School of Education. www.uml.edu.