Transforming Our Model for Student Success: The WRAP Initiative

October 19, 2018.Reading time 14 minutes.

quote box reads: “It’s truly rewarding to watch our campus do a complete 180-degree turn, 9% virtual in 2004 and now is 9% face-to-face in 2018. To accomplish this and have increases in matriculations, persistence, and graduations as well as keeping a population of over 24,000 students active by completely overhauling our model is incredible.” - Jason M. Ruckert, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide

Welcome to the final blog post in our WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Award blog post series! Today we are joined by Jason M. Ruckert from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide, to discuss their 2018 WOW Award winning initiative: Worldwide Retention, Affinity, and Persistence or WRAP. The WRAP initiative encompasses immersive solutions which include the incorporation […]

WCET’s 7th Annual Leadership Summit

June 15, 2018.Reading time 22 minutes.

word cloud with words: inclusion, financial aid, learning, worstudy, data, equality, faculty, studnet, diversity, skills, future, access OER, equity, digital, accessibility, success, technology, diverse, innovation, competencies, highered, worforce, education,a chievement, committment

We just got back from the annual WCET Leadership Summit in Newport Beach, CA where we deliberated on how digital learning can help higher education can embrace: Equity as a demonstrated priority for the institutions’ students, faculty, and staff. Accessibility as the lens through which the institution examines its resources, policies, services, and infrastructure. Data […]

Looking Back, Looking Forward

January 16, 2018.Reading time 15 minutes.

word cloud with the words "technology, buzz, CBE, tradition, distance ed, personalized, teaching, virtual reality, copetency, augmented rality, accessibility, data, content learning, instructional design, enrollment, digital, magic, platform, accomodations, evidence, digital learning, innovation, student, SARA, policy, online learning, govnerment, hype, OER, student

It seems like all the cool kids are writing about last year’s trends and predicting what will come to pass in 2018. Well, we WCETers don’t want to be left out of the fun! Over the last few weeks I’ve discussed 2017 and 2018 with some of the movers and shakers in the higher ed, […]

What is Distance Education? – Definitions and Delineations

November 7, 2017.Reading time 13 minutes.

image reading "what is distance education?"

Close your eyes (not for too long) and answer the question: “What is distance education?” Did you envision the same concept and experiences as I did? Even though more than one-quarter of all higher education students in the United States and a roughly equivalent number in Canada now take at least one distance education course, […]

From a Vision to Reality: The Story of Sentinel City®

October 24, 2017.Reading time 8 minutes.

a screenshot from inside the sentinel city platform, showing a virtual healthcare building

Today we continue the WCET Frontiers series on the 2017 WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Awards. These awards honor member institutions and organizations that develop technology-based solutions to challenging educational needs. The 2017 award winners will be honored this week at the 29th WCET Annual Meeting. Welcome to Megan Sellers, from Healthcare Innovations, a division of […]

WOW Award: Oregon State University’s Virtual Microscope for Distance Students

September 21, 2017.Reading time 9 minutes.

This year I had the exciting opportunity to coordinate our WCET Awards initiative. The most valuable aspect of this initiative was the chance to learn about the meaningful, student-focused work being done by various institutions and organizations in higher education. The WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Awards honor member institutions and organizations that develop technology-based solutions […]

Meet Maura, A Virtual Intelligent Agent Answering Student Services Questions

November 10, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

Young woman standing in front of a city landscape.

In the spring semester of 2013, American Sentinel University was experiencing the welcomed issue of high student traffic. The university had back-to-back years of significant growth in enrollment, and new degree program requirements were being implemented in the spring, naturally creating curiosity among the student population. While we encourage and are happy to talk with […]