News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 20, 2007

MEDIA CONTACT:

Peter W. Rush
Director of Marketing
412-395-8143
prush@edmc.edu

Jacquelyn P. Muller
Vice President — Public Relations
412.995.7262
jpmuller@edmc.edu

South University Faculty Members are Key Presenters at the 13th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

SAVANNAH, Ga. – November 20, 2007 – South University faculty members provided guidance on mentoring and measuring faculty performance in an online classroom at the 13th annual Sloan C International Conference on Online Learning held November 9th, 2007 in Orlando, Florida.

The purpose of the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) is to help learning organizations continually improve quality, scale, and breadth of their online programs, according to their own distinctive missions, so that education will become a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines.

Distance learning is one of the most talked-about topics today in higher education and corporate training. Asynchronous learning is the fastest-growing approach to distance learning. This conference, provided the latest information on asynchronous learning programs, processes, packages, and protocols, is geared to both experienced professionals and interested newcomers to online learning who hail from a variety of work sectors, including higher education, continuing education, business, government, health care, professional associations, and nonprofit organizations.

Faculty members addressed the topic of “Best Practices for Measuring Faculty Performance in an Online Classroom.”

“Our audience at the Sloan conference was very attentive to the information we presented about measuring performance in an online classroom. We found, during our conversations, that many college and universities are having difficulty managing their large pool of adjuncts; we felt that we were a step head ahead of our peers. After the presentation, several faculty administrators provided feedback on how much the information helped them outline changes they need to make in their programs, "said Destini Copp, Program Director and Associate Professor at South University and one of the conference presenters.

Copp added, one of her goals as a presenter was to focus on how much the online adjunct faculty headcount has grown. “Online adjunct faculty headcount has grown by leaps and bounds over the past five years. Organizations are finding it difficult to manage the volume of classroom/faculty members effectively. Oftentimes, they do not find out about issues until a student complains about a faculty member.”

Also attending the conference was Dr. Laurie Fitts, Assistant Professor Faculty Program Director in the Healthcare Management Program, Dr. John Distler, Faculty Program Director and Full Time Faculty and Sheila Marks DNS, Program Director/Lead Full Time Faculty Nursing.

South University launched their online degree programs in 2005 with its first online bachelor’s degree programs in nursing and criminal justice. In 2006, it launched its online master’s degrees in business administration. Today, the student population of South University Online has grown rapidly, exceeding 4,000 students.

###

Back to Current News