The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) has announced that the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) has been selected as a recipient for the 2019 Effective Practice Awards – Effective Practices in Digital Education. USAHS will be recognized at the upcoming OLC Accelerate conference (#OLCAccelerate), in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 19-22.
“This year’s award recipients represent extraordinary examples of the innovation happening in digital teaching and learning today,” said Jennifer Mathes, Ph.D., Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Online Learning Consortium. “We thank them for their dedication to quality and congratulate them on their success.”
OLC’s Effective Practice Awards recognize effective techniques, strategies and practices that are shared by members of the OLC community to advance quality and access to online programs.
“Members of the OLC community continually strive to make quality online education accessible and affordable for the modern learner,” said Lynette O’Keefe, Ph.D., Director, OLC Research Center, Online Learning Consortium. “The OLC Effective Practice Awards recognize this commitment and provide an opportunity for members to demonstrate what’s working in online education and share best practices that their peers can apply in their own programs.”
USAHS is being honored for “Concierge Support Model: Promoting Doctoral Student Success in an Online Program” – a collaboration among Lori Kupczynski, Professor; Sunddip Aguilar, Doctor of Education and Doctor of Health Sciences Program Director; Cindy Mathena, Dean of the College of Health Sciences; Shannon Groff, Doctoral Advisor and Contributing Faculty; Kimberly Terrell, Post Professional Program Coordinator for Doctor of Education, Doctor of Health Science, and International Non-Degree Students; Lindsay Rosenfeld, Senior Academic Program Assistant; and Frank Bennett, Academic Advisor.
The new concierge approach to serving online doctoral students that was developed through this collaboration relied on evidence-based research to design ways to better support online students, holistically with personalized support, as they progress towards dissertation.
“This project is the result of what occurs when you use data to drive your planning coupled with a team that is fueled by passion, energy and a focus on the USAHS mission,” said Dr. Cindy Mathena, Dean of the College of Health Sciences. “I am thankful to Dr. Lori Kupczynski for guiding us in this award submission, she was instrumental in helping us to articulate the effectiveness of this concierge model.”
“Congratulations to the team being honored by OLC, and for working to provide world class support to online doctoral students at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences,” said Dr. Divina Grossman, University President and Chief Academic Officer. “Innovation is at the heart of our DNA and their collaboration to deepen support for online graduate students is an example of our commitment to continually evolve as an institution. We are proud of this team, and the recognition they have garnered.”
